Archangelic
by RandomPsychoEmoBeaver
Summary: One was birthed naturally, the other built from scratch. Now they're two new heroes helping out the boys with their problems as the boys get dragged into theirs. Rated T for language and mild violence.
1. Bang Bang Baby

**Psycho here and I'm exploring new fandom: Static Shock! Here it is! Enjoy!**

**--**

**Chapter One: A-Bang Bang Baby**

**--**

"Welcome to the beautiful city of Dakota!"

Sisters, Lux and Morgan were sitting in the backseat of the car as their father talked; both stared absentmindedly out the window. This was the place they were going to live in until they were old enough to escape to college. Groaning, Lux shifted in her seat itching to move around. Morgan just sighed and closed her eyes, willing her father to turn and take them back to California.

"Come on girls, no complaining. You'll love it here!" Their father, James, exclaimed.

"I seriously doubt that Daddy." Lux snapped.

"I agree, Napa was so much better. Why'd we move again?" Morgan added.

"Because I've been commissioned to be out here." James told them, a bit annoyed.

"Oh yea, why do you have to be in the army? It's a pain." Morgan complained.

They didn't mind their dad being in the army. They were actually proud of him, very proud of him. It just pained them to have to move every few years. It was hard to make new friends, especially since they were so different. It's not every day you meet two metahuman sisters: one birthed naturally but enhanced and the other built from scratch.

"Daddy, we have a problem." Lux suddenly piped up.

"What is it darling? Need to go to the bathroom?" James asked his daughter looking at her in the rear view mirror.

"No but if I don't move, I'm going to explode, literally." Lux replied.

"I think we should let her go." Morgan suggested.

James sighed. He knew his daughter wanted to get out and burst into flames but he couldn't allow it. He was actually glad they were going to live in Dakota aka Metahuman City. They'd fit in better, no one would find them too strange. Shaking his head as an answer, he ignored the groans he got in return.

"If I destroy the car and kill you and Morgan, I can't be blamed. You denied me my right to move." Lux lamented before sitting back, still shifting in her seat.

"Dad, I'd rather not die." Morgan told him bluntly.

Then his oldest daughter did the unthinkable, she opened her car door (whilst he was still driving) and let her sister jump out. He watched in horror as Lux hit the ground rolling before stopping and standing up. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw there was not a scratch on her. He shouldn't have been so worried though, he had created her to be invincible. Seconds after she stood up, he and Morgan watched as Lux burst into flames and flew into the air and out of sight.

"I hope she has the address to the house." James sighed as Morgan closed the door and sat back with a smile on her face.

"She sure does know how to look good when she does that." She commented and her father chuckled.

The house was in a nice, secluded, and quiet suburb. Morgan loved those three things and she couldn't but smile as she walked into her bedroom. Since he knew his daughters were horribly lazy, James had the movers move everything into the house under his assistant's supervision. All the furniture was beautifully arranged and the house was ready to be lived in when they arrived.

"Knock, knock," Morgan looked up to see her father standing in the doorway.

"Hey Dad, she's not back yet?" She asked, brushing her blonde hair out of her face.

She watched as her father's face scrunched in worry, it was to be expected. He shook his head at her, to indicate that Lux had not returned to the house.

"No, she's not back yet. I was thinking about going to look for her." He replied.

"It's going to be fine Daddy, Luxy is one tough bitch. Pardon my language, and she can take care of herself."

James nodded but Morgan could tell he was still worried, bordering on panic even. Sighing she stood up and smiled at him, reassuring him.

"I'll go look for her." She offered.

"No, then you'll go missing and I'll be a mess." James bit his lip and began to pace.

"Be back soon!" Morgan called as she ran out the room.

James sighed and sat on his daughter's bed before putting his head in his hands. He had expected this, or at least that's what he told himself. It was something he had spent many years prior to this coming to terms with. His girls were special and they weren't going to deny that to themselves. No matter how much he wanted them to.

--

"_Mr. Willows, would you like to meet your newest child?" A grinning scientist, covered in sweat, asked him._

_James nodded and followed her as she led him to a nursery. There were two beds, one for his first daughter Morgan who was next to be enhanced. In the other was the most beautiful little girl he had ever seen. Her skin was silky caramel colored, her hair was shimmering silver and her eyes were a fathomless ocean blue. He found himself hypnotized by her._

"_She's gorgeous, both her and her sister are gorgeous," His voice broke, "And they're _both _mine, one by blood and the other thanks to my wife's research."_

"_Yes, Mr. Willows, you have been assigned to be their guardian until they are called for." The scientist replied._

_He picked up his Morgan, looking into the blonde's forest green eyes and walked her over to the new child._

"_This is your sister baby girl, and you two are going to be close. You're going to be inseparable and you'll always protect each other, okay?" He whispered to her._

_In response, Morgan stretched her arms out, as if to grab the other girl and James set her down in the crib. Both he and the scientist watched in wonder as the two embraced and held each other before falling to sleep. _

"_What's her name?" James asked._

"_Lux Aeterna," The scientist responded._

_Lux and Morgan. Morgan and Lux. James couldn't help smile at his two girls. If only his wife had been alive to see them. He wondered if she'd be as happy and as proud as he was._

"_Come on now Mr. Willows, it's time for them to be taken to genetics." _

_And at that he was reluctantly led away. _

--

Morgan looked everywhere for her sister. It shouldn't have been that hard to find her. How many people had hair was white as snow. Hopefully, she mused, not that many. It was getting later and later and the streets were getting less crowded. Picking up her pace she continued looking for Lux.

"Come on, where are you?" She hissed as a street light above her came on.

Her dad was going to kill them both and they'd be grounded before they even started school.

"Hey there precious, you lost?" She heard someone ask from behind her and she froze, turning around to face a thuggish looking man.

"No, I know exactly where I am." She bluffed.

"Then you should know to not wonder into these parts beautiful." He chuckled as he advanced on her.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god…" She breathed before turning and taking off in the opposite direction.

She could hear the man behind her and she sped up. She did her best to stay in the middle of the street as she ran; she couldn't let him catch her. She'd be mugged for sure, maybe even worse. _Where the hell are you Lux?! _Her thoughts screamed as she reached a dead end. She screeched to a halt and turned to face her pursuer.

"Leave me alone!" She ordered.

He just walked towards her, and she noticed something she had not earlier. He was completely black and purple, like a shadow. As he got closer he seemed to get closer.

"No one tells me what to do." He hissed.

And then everything became shrouded in darkness…

--

**Bad way to end it but it's a good start right? I'm sorry for the really sappy flashback but if you were meeting your newest child, wouldn't you get a little choked up too? Review and tell me what you think!**

**Later**


	2. Angel Fire

**Chapter Two: Angel Fire**

**--**

"Now Ebon, what has this lovely lady done to you?" Static asked as he closed in on the shadowy metahuman.

He was glad he was patrolling these parts; he seemed to have arrived in the nick of time. As he closed in on them he zapped Ebon to give the girl time to run. She did just that but only got across the street from them.

"What are you doing, run!" Static yelled to her.

"He's got backup!" She called back and pointed to Talon who was circling above.

Realizing her cover was blown, the bird-woman dived down towards the girl and Static could only watch in horror. He couldn't fend off Ebon and stop Talon at the same time. He could only hope the girl moved out of the way in time.

Then something amazing, and surprising happened.

A blast of white fire hit Talon and knocked her out of the sky. Knocking Ebon unconscious, Static flew up to see whom the girl's savior had been. He saw no one and looked back he saw that the girl was gone. Scratching his head, he wrapped Talon and Ebon up in supercharged light posts to prevent them from escaping until the police came. Then he flew off, returning home.

--

"It was so weird Richie, one minute she was there, then there was this blast of light, and she was gone." Virgil told his friend the next day as they walked into school.

"You think she was a bang baby?" The blond asked.

"She could have been but I didn't recognize. Dakota's not a small town but I know she's not from here. So maybe it was someone else." Virgil explained as they headed into homeroom.

Walking in, they were surprised to see a girl sitting in Virgil's seat. She was blonde, pale, and smiling. Virgil recognized her immediately.

"That's her! That's the girl!" He whispered to Richie.

Richie looked her up and down and whistled, "She's a looker."

"She doesn't _look _like a bang baby though. She looks kind, good natured and…well…human." Virgil remarked.

They made their way toward her and Richie sat down across from her. She cocked her head to the side and assessed him. He just smiled in return.

"Hi, I'm Richie and this is my friend Virgil. You're new right?" He asked.

She nodded and held out her hand, "I'm Morgan."

"Nice to meet you Morgan. And I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you're sort of in my seat." Virgil told her, a grin on her face.

"Oh? I'm sorry I didn't know. I can move if you want me to." She blushed but he could see that she was looking at him the way she had to Richie. Then her eyebrow raised and she smiled.

_But you won't make her, be a gentlemen Virgil. You may get her number in the process. _The thought flashed through his mind and he obeyed it. Smiling and shaking his head he just pulled up a desk behind Richie and sat down.

"It's cool; there are plenty of vacant desks here." Virgil told her as the teacher began talking.

Twenty minutes later the bell rang and Morgan stood up to leave but not before slipping each boy a piece of paper.

"We should hang out sometime. Get to know one another and you guys can meet my baby sister." She smiled before leaving out to her next class.

Richie and Virgil just stared after her as they looked down at what she had given them: her phone number. Grinning they high-fived each other before walking out.

"She is so not bang baby material. She's too nice." Richie commented.

"You got that right, she is too nice." Virgil frowned.

"Ooh, when did you become Mr. Paranoid?" Richie laughed.

"Ever since last night, there's something strange about that girl. I mean, barely knows us and she gives us her phone number. No girl does that." Virgil told him.

Richie didn't say anything though. He had to agree with Virgil though; there was something about Morgan that was a bit…off.

"We should still give her a call." Richie smirked.

Virgil punched his friend in the shoulder as they went their separate ways to their different classes. Richie walked into his Geometry class and waved to Frieda who then pointed to the back of the class. He gave her a questioning look before looking and nearly yelled in shock. His gaze was greeted by the blue eyes of a white-haired girl. She frowned at him before turning her attention to the board.

"Whoa."

He _had _to tell Virgil about this,

"Students before we begin today, I'd like to introduce a new student. Young lady, would you please stand up and introduce yourself to us?" Mr. Williams, the teacher, asked her.

She stood up but Richie could tell that she was really that excited about introducing herself. A smile crept across her face and the blond boy immediately became uneasy. If he thought there was something up with Morgan, there was definitely something up with this girl.

"The name is Lux, Lux Aeterna. Yes it is my real name so don't bother asking." She told the students.

"Where you from?" Frieda asked.

"L.A." Lux answered.

Then the white-haired newcomer sat back down and focused her eyes on Mr. Williams.

"It's nice to meet you Lux, which is an interesting name." He commented and she nodded.

Yes, Richie had to tell Virgil about this.

--

"I think I found your mystery metahuman" Richie told Virgil as they walked out of the school building at the end of the day.

"Who?" Virgil asked, genuinely curious.

"A new student, who I think may be Morgan's 'baby sister.'" He used air quotes, "Lux Aeterna."

"Sounds like a metahuman, should we look into it?" Virgil asked.

"I don't think so; I mean they haven't caused any trouble. I think they just want to be normal like the rest of us." Richie told him.

"But _we're _not normal. Speaking of which, how's your brain problem?" Virgil snickered.

Richie frowned and rubbed his temple. For the past few weeks, it felt as though his brain had been on overdrive. He didn't know why either and it was really bothering him. And the only outlet for this newfound frustration was the urge to invent.

"I've rebuilt my laptop to be faster and more efficient." The blond smiled sheepishly.

Virgil was about to make a joke at his friend's expense when screams erupted from the school and a loud explosion was heard.

"V?" Richie nodded to him and Virgil ran off to go change.

Moments later Static was flying towards the school, looking to see what was going on. Lowering himself he was greeted by a ball of fire. Moving out the way, he narrowly dodged the projectile. Looking up he saw Hotstreak walking around, obviously searching for someone.

"What are you doing here?" Static asked.

"I'm on a hunt, someone hurt Talon last night and Ebon's out for blood. I heard a rumor that the guy attended Dakota U. Was it you?" Hotstreak inquired before attacking.

Static threw up a shield and moved away, trying to lure Hotstreak away from the screaming students. _Behind you! _A foreign thought screamed. Static turned and was able to dodge Shiv was going to stab him in the back. He took off into the air so that he could get a better view of everyone. He saw Richie standing and watching the action from a safe distance. He saw frightened students hiding from the metahumans' wrath. And he saw Morgan and Lux…arguing. He was so distracted by them that he didn't notice the fireball until the voice from earlier screamed _MOVE! _in his head. He did so and sent an electric blast towards Hotstreak and Shiv.

"That all you got Sparky?" Hotstreak asked as he lit the area around him on fire. People screamed as they tried to escape the blaze. And Shiv was going after those people.

Realization hit Virgil; this was the same exact situation from last night. He couldn't put out the fire, take care of Hotstreak, and Shiv without suffering some major damage in the process. Closing his eyes Virgil decided it was worth it and soared down to help the people trying to escape from Shiv. He picked up the metahuman with his electricity and stuck him to the side of the building. And just like had expected he was blasted from behind by Hotstreak. He grunted as he fell to his knees. Turning he fired a poorly aimed charge and missed. Hotstreak laughed as he neared Static, hand ablaze and ready to strike.

"I don't care if it wasn't you, I'm still going to take you out." The redhead sneered.

"HELP HIM!" Someone screamed and Static closed his eyes as a white light erupted behind Hotstreak.

When he opened them he found Morgan kneeling in front of him, her hand on his back and a blue light emanating from it.

"He burned you pretty badly, but I can heal it." She told him.

"I knew you were a metahuman. You took care of Talon last night." Static smiled.

"Actually that was my sister," She pointed to Lux who was blocking Hotstreak's attack, keeping him from hitting Static. Her own hands ablaze with fire, a white fire.

"What are you guys?" The superhero asked.

"It's a long story, we'll tell you later. Right now I need to get you to safety." Static chuckled; he never thought he'd be the one to be saved.

"I need to take care of Hotstreak first." He told her.

"I think Lux has it taken care of." Morgan smiled at him before looking towards her sister.

Lux, indeed, did have it taken care of. She had successfully dissipated Hotstreak's flame and replaced it with her own. The redheaded pyro was trapped. Growling he let out a wave of flames. Static's eyes widened when Lux seemed to flicker, avoiding the powerful blast which weakened Hotstreak. Taking a rope of fire, she tied him up with it, restraining him. She then punched him out and smiled at her sister and Virgil.

"Let's get out of here." She said, putting out her flames before helping her sister support Virgil.

The sound of police cars were heard behind them as they snuck away, Richie joining them and leading them to the Abandoned Gas Station of Solitude. There, they laid Static out on the couch after removing his jacket.

"I don't know how to thank you." The wounded superhero said as Morgan resumed her healing.

"That guy's name would be a nice start." Lux smirked.

"His name's Francis and he's bad news Luxy, please don't flirt with him or anything." Morgan told her sister.

Richie and Static looked at her in surprise.

"How'd you know his name?" Richie asked.

"The same way I know a lot of things Richie. My power rests in my mind. I'm a telepath, a telekinetic, a hypnotist, and a seer. The only physical power I have is the ability to stimulate cell regeneration aka healing." Morgan explained.

"Wait…" Virgil looked at her in fear, "Does that mean?"

"Yes Virgil, I know who you are, I've known since last night. Of course, Richie's association was also a giveaway." The blonde girl smiled.

"Ok, you've got some serious explaining to do." Richie frowned.

"We all do, don't we?" Lux asked.

--

**Hmm, I do not like the chapter too much. It felt a little rushed, but the plot to this story kind of needs it. I had to get the preliminary stuff out the way. I hope you guys can forgive me. Reviews are greatly appreciated!**

**Until next time!**


	3. A Pale Moon

**Chapter Three: A Pale Moon**

**--**

"Wow, a gang war where everyone involved turned into mutants. Sounds like something you only hear about on TV." Morgan commented.

"Well this happened for real and it was one scary ordeal." Virgil responded.

The group of teens was sitting in a circle on the middle of the gas station. Virgil had told his story first and Richie piped in every now and then when necessary. Morgan and Lux just listened intently.

"Hotstreak, the one you guys met earlier today, he went to Dakota U. too. He was known as F-Stop." Virgil continued.

Lux burst into laughter, "F-Stop? That's horrifying."

The rest of the group laughed too. They had to agree, it was a pretty pathetic name.

"Anyways, there's a whole slew of bang babies out in Dakota right now. There's Ebon, Talon, Shiv, Puff, and so many more," Virgil frowned, "And it's up to Static to take care of them all. And I have to admit, it's getting harder nowadays."

Morgan smiled a comforting smile, "At least not all the bang babies are bad."

Virgil nodded and smiled back, "So what's your story?" He asked.

"Well my sister Lux and I are metahumans, obviously. The only thing is, I was born naturally and…" Morgan began.

"I was created from scratch." Lux finished.

"I didn't even think it was possible, to create a metahuman as powerful as you." Richie remarked.

"I'm not powerful, just well trained, nothing more." Lux responded, quickly getting defensive. Morgan placed and hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright Luxy, we can trust them. Sometimes I swear _you're _the older sister." The telepath laughed.

Lux shrugged and continued, "We were created to be human bio-weapons, in other words, super soldiers. I'm the offense and Morgan is the defense."

"Why is the government creating super soldiers?" Virgil asked.

"Same reason why we created nuclear bombs, for war," was Lux's bitter answer.

"Did you escape or something? I'm sure it's not every day human weapons go to high school." Richie joked.

"Nor is it every day that teenage boys moonlight as superheroes, but to answer your question, we didn't escape, we were granted freedom." Lux answered.

"On one condition though, if we're called at any time, we have to go in and perform our duties." Morgan added.

"What duties?" Virgil asked.

"Assassinations," the room went silent.

Morgan closed her eyes and sighed, leaning onto Lux's shoulder. Looking out the window, the teens saw it was getting later and the moon had come out to greet them. Lux got to her feet and helped Morgan up, they both nodded to the boys.

"We should go now, we can talk more tomorrow." The white haired girl said.

She and Morgan said their goodbyes before walking out of the gas station and heading home. Virgil and Richie watched them go.

"I should get started on patrol." Virgil said, going back inside the gas station.

"Yea, you should."

--

James was waiting for his girls when they got home. He had expected them home earlier but when they called him to tell him they were hanging with friends, he was a little surprised. Of course, he knew they would make friends their first day at school.

"Hey Daddy!" Morgan said as she passed him.'

"Good evening Morgan how was school?" He asked.

"It was great, we met some great people." The blonde smiled as she headed upstairs.

"Did you make any friend Lux?" James asked his ever silent daughter.

"Yes, of course you wouldn't approve. He's a bit of a bad boy." Lux grinned as she followed after her sister.

"Bad boy…?" James frowned.

Upstairs Lux closed her door; she didn't lock it because she knew Morgan would want to go over the events of the day. She didn't know yet if she trusted Richie and Virgil. So what if Virgil was Static, Dakota's favorite superhero? It didn't mean he was trustworthy.

"I think you're over analyzing the situation Lux." Morgan chided as she walked in.

"Forgive me for not being the optimistic and trusting sister." Lux scowled at her sister.

Morgan sighed and sat down beside her sister, intending to comfort her in some way. Moving was always harder on Lux than her, mainly because the white-haired girl found it harder to make friends. Lux simply felt that the only people she could truly rely on were her sister and her father.

"They didn't judge you like the others did." Morgan pointed out, "Actually they thought you pretty cool."

Lux hid a smile as she nodded, "Okay I guess I can give them a chance. We've told them everything anyway. There's no reason to hide."

"Exactly!" Morgan exclaimed as she hugged her sister.

Minutes later Lux was saying good night to Morgan as she closed her door, this time locking it. Heading over to her window she opened it and stepped out onto the ledge. In her opinion, the night was still young and she had no intention of sleeping it away. Summoning her flames she let them control her as she jumped from the window and soared into the air. She flew over the entire neighborhood, watching it. It was then she wondered if this is how Virgil felt when he was on patrols, like he was the only one who could protect this place from pain and despair.

She left the area where she lived, flying over downtown. There seemed to be no trouble tonight. _I guess even bang babies take breaks? _She mused to herself. Landing on a fire escape she looked down at people walking in and out of nightclubs. Some were drunk and other completely sober. She never understood the human need to drink, not when she knew alcohol had lethal effects after awhile. So why drink at all?

"Lux?" She heard above her and looked up to see Virgil aka Static looking down at her.

"Hey Vir…Static, how's it hanging?" She asked nonchalantly.

"It's pretty quiet tonight; I thought you guys went home." He landed beside her.

"We did but I don't sleep, and I can't sit still. So I decided to get familiar with Dakota since we'll be here for awhile." Lux told him.

He nodded, "Well at least you can protect yourself, so I've got no reason to worry."

"You got that right Static Cling." Lux smirked before leaping off the fire escape to the ground below. Static just shook his head before he took off to finish his patrol.

Lux wondered past closed shops and restaurants. It was quiet and that both soothed and unnerved her. Looking at her cell phone, which she had brought with her just in case, she saw she had been out for at least two hours. Frowning she looked up at the stars, wondering why off all the places in the world she had to be stuck in, she was in Dakota. _Actually, I hate to be stuck anywhere. _She mused; _I'd rather go wherever the wind takes me. Even if that is a little cliché, it's what I want._

Somewhere far away she heard a clock strike midnight and she decided to head somewhere different. Downtown was beginning to bore her. Somewhere nearby she had the sound of glass breaking and an alarm going off. It's no wonder the crime rate was still going up despite Static around. The electric boy wonder had a curfew. Lux smirked, but she didn't. Heading down an alleyway she encountered three crooks. All were human so she didn't really need to use her powers to take care of them. Five minutes later, after taking them by surprise, she had the three tied up and unconscious with the police on their way. She got away as quickly as she could and headed to the park that was nearby.

She strolled down the paved paths until she reached a giant oak tree. Having nothing better to do, she climbed to the very top of the tree and made herself comfortable. She had a far view of the city below her and she watched it. It was silent as though all life had vanished. And yet there were still sounds. The farthest sound she could hear was a television set. The closest sound she could hear was…fire?

Lux looked down, and indeed, the giant oak tree had caught fire. Panicking she slid down and jumped from the tree. The fire wasn't white, so it wasn't hers. Quickly she put it out before any major could be caused. Looking around she located the arsonist standing a few feet away, setting another alight.

"Hey!" She called out.

The vandal turned around and Lux was somewhat surprised to be standing face to face with Hotstreak again, after she had fought him earlier.

"Well, what do we have here? You're the bitch that almost got me arrested." Hotstreak spat.

"And you're the asshole who decided to terrorize students, which is why you were almost arrested. I wish the police had finished the job." Lux snapped back.

"Well they didn't, so what are you going to do about it?" Hotstreak smirked, his body becoming ablaze.

"Oh, you'll see." Lux replied, her hands began to smoke.

And Hotstreak charged at her.

--

**That's a horrid place to leave it but I like cliffhangers. They make you want to read more. Okay, so review and tell me what you think!**

**Later. **


	4. Like A Circus

**Chapter Four: Like a Circus**

**--**

"So we've decided if you want to be, you two can be my partners against crime." Virgil chirped at lunch the next day.

Lux snorted while Morgan beamed.

"You can't be serious?" Lux asked.

"I'm _dead _serious. I can't handle all these bang babies by myself. I get tired after awhile, that's where two come in. You can pick up my slack." Virgil told her.

"So we're the last resorts?" Lux asked, her voice containing some venom.

"Not like that, jeez someone's touchy today. What happened that night after we went our separate ways?" Virgil asked, genuinely worried.

"Why is it any of your business?" Lux replied.

Morgan looked her sister, worry in her eyes. She knew of her sister's late night escapades. She had found out a few weeks after she and her father discovered the white-haired pyro had insomnia. She didn't approve of Lux going out after dark, but she couldn't stop her. She _needed _to sleep, Lux didn't.

"You are tense Luxy, did you get into a fight?" Morgan inquired.

"You could say that." Lux mumbled.

--

_Hotstreak smirked as he tightened his chokehold around Lux's neck. The white haired girl struggled to breathe as she kicked and flailed. She was not going to let him get the best of her. Thinking quickly she stopped moving around, closed her eyes, and became completely still. Her breathing slowed to a stop and she became limp under Hotstreak's grasp. Foolishly Hotstreak let her slump to the ground and grinned sadistically down at her._

"_That's what you get when you cross me." He sneered._

"_And this is why you fail." Was what he got in response before he was knocked off his feet._

_Hotstreak snarled as Lux stood up and glared down at him, her face filled with anger. _

"_It's a shame, you're really cute. Now I'm gonna wipe the floor with that face of yours." He hissed as he got up and threw a fireball at her._

_Lux easily ducked and the fireball flew right over her, "Who's wiping the floor with whom?" _

_Hotstreak continued his assault, firing fireball after fireball at her. She dodged them all._

"_At least one of those should have hit you! What the hell?!" He gasped._

_Lux merely charged him and delivered a hard right hook into his jaw. Hotstreak flew backwards and away from her, landing on his back. Lux kissed her fist before approaching Hotstreak and leaned down in front of him._

"_That's going to leave a nasty bruise." She smiled, "Let me kiss it for you."_

"_Go to hell," Hotstreak groaned before pushing her away._

_He began to flare back up in retaliation when he heard sirens in the distance. The fire he had started had spread through the park. Lux gasped and stepped back, watching the natural haven burn to the ground._

"_What have you done?!" She demanded of Hotstreak._

"_They're just a few trees. They can be replaced." Hotstreak shrugged. He didn't care but the fury in Lux's eyes told him that he should._

"_Put it out now." She ordered._

"_Hell no bitch, you don't tell me what to do." He snarled._

"_I said _NOW _dammit." She snapped back with enough venom and anger in her voice to send even Superman flying away in terror._

"_Alright, I'll put them out." _

_Moments later the fire was out and the firefighters were entering the park. Lux and Hotstreak searched for a hiding place. Lux climbed back up to the top of the oak tree, Hotstreak right behind her._

"_Keep quiet hothead." She told Hotstreak as firefighters walked by, looking for the arsonist that had started the fire._

_Finding no one they headed back to their truck while Lux and Hotstreak climbed down the tree. Lux decided she had had enough excitement for the night and it was time for her to go home. As she began to walk away someone grabbed her arm and she turned to face Hotstreak._

"_We've got unfinished business to attend to." He growled, his hand began to smoke._

"_You're right, but not tonight okay? Some other time?" Lux smiled at him, rendering the redhead pyro speechless._

_Smirking, she walked up to him and placed a kiss on his cheek before turning and running off towards her home. Hotstreak could only touch his cheek, his mind wasn't up to speed on what had just happened yet. _

_She had just…flirted with him._

--

"I told you to keep away from him Lux!" Morgan scolded her sister.

"He's harmless Mo, just a little angry." Lux responded as she got up to empty her lunch box which was now filled with trash.

"A little angry? Next to the definition of anger and every variation of the word, you see Hotstreak's face," Richie laughed.

"Stop taking her side." Lux snapped at him.

"But he's right Luxy; please promise me you'll stay away from that psychotic pyromaniac." Morgan pleaded.

"Fine," Lux gave in.

"So back to the topic of superhero names, I think Morgan should be Good Cop and Lux be Bad Cop." Virgil teased.

Lux showed her appreciation for the names by kicking him in the shin under the table. He closed his eyes to mask the pain but the smile never left his face.

"Oh? So you want me to _break it_?" Lux asked in a perky but venomous voice.

"Okay so those names are out. I just don't know what you name you two." Virgil seceded.

"Why do we have to have related names?" Morgan asked.

"Well you said so yourself, Lux is the offense and you're the defense. You'll fight side by side so you'll need to let people know that." Richie explained.

"So we're like a two-for-one package?" Lux asked, annoyance flashing across her face.

"Yea," Richie and Virgil answer in unison.

And with that Lux left the table. Morgan looked after her before staring pointedly at the boys.

"One of you go apologize. The other can stay with me and discuss name, _good _names." She scowled at them.

Richie and Virgil looked each other, having a silent debate over who should go before Virgil gave in and left to go find Lux.

"So we have to have related names? Okay I'm good at this, so let me think." Morgan chirped.

Richie watched as she closed her eyes and seemed to fall into a trance. It seemed like forever until she opened them again and Richie spent the time wondering what it would be like to be a superhero. He was secretly jealous of his friends and their powers. Frowning to himself he looked up to find Morgan staring at him intensely.

"There's nothing glamorous about it Richie, having powers. It's more of a burden than it is a blessing." She told him, taking his hand in hers.

He watched as her pupils dilated and she seemed to be a million miles away. She was seeing a vision of him in the future. Morgan had told he and Virgil of that gift when they discussed powers. One touch and she could see into anyone's future, whether it be a few years, weeks, or minutes. She saw it all. And her mouth dropped open at what she saw.

Her pupils returned to her normal size and she cocked her head to the side, gazing at Richie just like she had the first day he had met her, almost a week before.

"You'll experience it firsthand soon." She told him cryptically.

"Experience what?" He asked but the subject was dropped as soon as it was brought up.

"Anyways, back to names. I think our names should be opposite each other because Lux and I are opposites. What do you think?" She asked, her voice back to its usual perkiness.

"I think that's a great idea. How about Fire and Ice?" Richie suggested.

"Gross, it's too generic. And they have to be in relation to our powers." Morgan responded.

Five minutes later Richie banged his head against the lunch table, "I got nothing."

Above them the bell rang indicating the end of lunch.

"It's okay Richie, we'll think of something later at the gas station." Morgan told him before heading out of the cafeteria and going to class.

--

That night Richie couldn't sleep at all. His brain felt as though it was about to explode out of his head and he found himself tossing and turning all night. Morgan's earlier words came back to him.

_You'll experience it firsthand soon._

Did she mean he was going to become a metahuman? If so, then why so late? Groaning he climbed out of bed, he needed something to take his mind off of…his mind. Without thinking he began taking apart various electronics and began building. Equations and formulas filled his head as he put piece after piece together with only one intention in mind, he was going to be a superhero.

That night, Backpack was born. And Morgan knew her vision had come true.

_Gear…_

--

**I'm sure you can guess what the next chapter is about, yes? That's right! We introduce Gear. I've got to go rewatch the episode to make sure I get everything right and my girls can fit into it. You'll learn their superhero aliases then too. So stay tuned!**

**Until next time!**


	5. Not Hardware, Gear

**Chapter Five: Not Hardware, Gear**

**--**

"How does it feel to be a superhero Matrix?" Static asked.

The one he was referring to, Matrix was a masked Morgan who was clad in a sleeveless black catsuit. She did a back flip in mid-air to answer his questions. She grinned as a explosion of white fire passed her. Lux aka Nitrix roared to a halt, floating just a few yards ahead of her sister and Static.

"I feel like a cliché." Nitrix deadpanned, pulling at her identical catsuit that was white instead of black.

"That's how you're supposed to feel!" Matrix grinned before soaring high into the air.

They were on a routine patrol, something that the girls had become quite familiar with the past few days. As they flew around they stopped random robberies and other crimes of the like. Today was a bit of a slow day though.

"You know, I'm craving ice cream." Nitrix mused as she looked down at an ice cream stand on the sidewalk.

As she flew down to satisfy her needs, Virgil received a call on his Shock Vox. Morgan flew over to him to hear whatever it was Richie had to say.

"What's up Rich? Other than Matrix and I?" He joked.

"_I need you to get to headquarters right away." _Richie told them.

"Why man? What's wrong?" Virgil asked.

"_Just get here." _Richie said before disconnecting.

Virgil looked at Matrix who nodded before flying down to retrieve Nitrix. Together they headed to the gas station as quickly as they could. Static entered first, not seeing anyone.

"Rich? Richie?" He called out but received no answer.

"Did he ditch us? That douchebag." Nitrix commented.

They looked around the gas station for Richie. Static pointed to a cloth covering something in the corner. Nitrix walked over and pulled it off, revealing a pile of rusty tools.

"He needs to clean that up. It's hazardous to our health." Matrix said.

"Oh Richard! Where are you?" Nitrix called out.

"_Right here." _Richie's voice said as a lens appeared in front of her.

"Holy Jesus!" Nitrix screamed as Matrix grabbed a pipe and prepared to hit the crawling robot that had appeared.

"No! Don't hurt it!" Richie said, running in from the back room of the gas station.

"What is that?!" Matrix asked still prepared to hit the robot with the pipe.

"It's a self-learning robot, I call it Backpack," Richie explained, proud of himself.

"I want one," Matrix chimed, "Where'd you get it?"

"I didn't _get _it, I built it." Richie proclaimed.

"You know, you have been on an inventing spree for the past few weeks." Static mused.

"I know, it's like my brain is on fire or something. All I can do is build, invent, and build some more." Richie told him as he paced the room causing Matrix to look at him before she smiled, knowing what was going on.

He ordered Backpack to shut down and the robot did as he said. Matrix went over to stare at the robot, interested in it. Nitrix and Static walked over to where small grenade looking bombs were sitting on the tool table.

"What are these?" Static asked as he pressed the button on top of one of the bombs.

"Aaah!" The electric superhero exclaimed as he was wrapped up in silver coils.

"Those are the next generation: zap caps." Richie told him while Nitrix snickered at Static hopping around the gas station, "They're a bang baby restraining device."

"They seem to work well." Static grumbled as he struggled to free himself.

Behind them the police scanner began to beep like crazy. Richie walked over to it hear what it was saying.

"What's up with that?" Nitrix asked pointing to the scanner.

"I programmed it to go off whenever it picked up the word 'metahuman,'" Richie explained.

"_There's been a breakout at county lock-up, in the metahuman wing. We need backup." _A voice said on the scanner.

"Let's go," Nitrix said as Static freed himself from his bindings. With Matrix behind them, they flew through the roof.

"I don't want to miss this." Richie said as he grabbed his scooter and followed after his friends.

--

As they neared the scene of the breakout, Matrix and Nitrix looked up to see Talon holding Ebon as they escaped from the top floor of the jail. Talon flew to the ground and the three heroes watched as Shiv freed Ebon.

"Let's get out of here, the cops are everywhere." Talon told her allies.

"You're worried about the cops when we're here?" Static asked as Matrix and Nitrix landed in front of the criminal bang babies.

"Static!" Shiv exclaimed.

"You got that right, you don't start none there won't be none." Static told them.

In response Kangorr jumped on a police car and kicked it, sending it flying at Static. However before it reached him, the vehicle stopped in mid air. Static gave Matrix a nod of appreciation as she placed the car on the ground, her mind straining to keep a strong hold on it. While the mentalist was busy Ebon used the opportunity to attack her. Nitrix wouldn't allow that and pushed him back when he sent a punch towards Matrix.

"Don't touch my sister." Nitrix growled, not noticing Kangorr behind her until he had roundhouse kicked her into the nearby building.

"Nitrix!" Static yelled as Talon swooped in behind him and knocked him into an alleyway. Matrix could only watch as she tended to them both as the bang babies made their escape. As Ebon rushed past her, he hit her shoulder and vision flashed through her mind.

_Hey, I know you…_

"Richie!" She gasped.

Richie was hidden in an alleyway when Ebon suddenly appeared in front of him. He gasped and backed away, fearing for his life.

"Hey, I know you. You're always hanging around with Static." Ebon growled.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Richie sputtered.

"I bet you know who he is. You're coming with me." Ebon snarled as he wrapped himself around Richie, intending to kidnap him.

As Richie yelled for help, Ebon was hit with a mixture of electricity and fire.

"Let him go Ebon." Static said as he floated overhead, glaring down at Ebon. Matrix and Nitrix stood below, ready to attack.

"No, he's coming with me." Ebon told him.

"No, he's not so I suggest you drop the boy and leave before I take you apart piece by piece shadow." Matrix threatened.

Ebon let Richie go and retreated into a sewer, "Another time heroes, guaranteed."

Richie gasped as he fell to his knees; Matrix was immediately at his side. She checked him all over for any injuries and when she found none she sighed in relief. On impulse she pulled him into a tight hug to which he returned. In the background, Static crossed his arms and smirked while Nitrix merely grinned.

"Are you okay?" Matrix asked.

"I'm fine, a little shook up but I'm fine."

"Oh thank God." Matrix breathed before she turned to Static and her sister, "Let's get out of here."

--

A few days passed and Morgan found herself worrying over Richie. He had been exhibiting new talents and though she knew what was happening to him, she still couldn't help but fuss over him when he slumped down at their lunch table.

"So Lux and I may have figured out what's wrong with you." Virgil told his friend.

"What did you figure out? That my brain is going into meltdown mode and soon it'll waste away and I'll become a lifeless corpse?" Richie muttered.

"Uh…no, this really has got you down doesn't it?" Virgil frowned.

"What do you think?" Richie snapped.

"Anyway! Virgil and I have reached a conclusion that you, Richie Foley, are a bang baby." Lux interjected.

"Wha…? How? I was nowhere near the Big Bang." Richie pointed out.

"But you were near me and I reeked of the stuff." Virgil added.

"So you were just a late bloomer." Lux finished.

"This sucks, it really does." Richie pouted.

"How does it suck? I thought it was your dream to be a superhero?" Morgan inquired.

"Yea, with a really awesome power, but no I just get stuck with a mind in overdrive." Richie sighed.

And with that he got up from the table and stalked off. Morgan got up and went after him while Lux and Virgil stayed behind.

"He sure is taking this hard." Virgil grimaced.

"He'll get over it." Lux deadpanned.

Virgil looked at her but she wasn't paying attention to him. Instead she was looking behind him, her eyes flaring. Turning Virgil came face to face with Ebon who began to wrap himself around the electric teen.

"Virgil!" Lux exclaimed before looking at Ebon, "What are you doing?!"

"Static's coming with me," Was her response as Ebon pulled Virgil into his dark pool and disappeared.

_Oh no, oh no, oh no, this cannot be happening! _ Lux looked around frantically, praying there were no witnesses. Surprisingly there weren't and with breakneck speed she took off to find Morgan and Richie. She finally found them sitting under a tree and panting she hurried up to them and began to tell them what had just occurred.

"Virgil…kidnapped…Ebon." She gasped.

"Virgil kidnapped Ebon? When?" Morgan asked, not catching on.

"No! He was kidnapped _by _Ebon you idiot!" Lux clarified.

"Ah, wait what?!" Morgan's eyes widened as the realization hit her.

Lux grabbed her and began to lead her off campus.

"We've got to find him, _now._" Lux ordered.

"Why now? He can take care of himself." Richie interrupted.

"He could, if Ebon didn't know he was Static!" Lux hissed.

Seconds later they were sneaking off of campus. Once they reached the gas station, the girls began to suit up while Richie grabbed his Shock Vox.

"V? Can you hear me?" He spoke into it, the girls listening nearby.

"_I can hear you. I can't believe Ebon figured it out." _Virgil's voice said through the device.

"It's all my fault V, he was going to kidnap me to get to you and I guess he pieced it together." Richie sighed.

"_It's okay, anyways, I can't power up. I've got this feeling that I'm being watched. Are the girls with you?" _ Virgil lamented.

"Yea, they're here and ready to come save you." Richie told him.

"_Good, anyways, I'm being held in a detention center. I think it's the old juvie hall."_

"Gotcha, we'll be there soon." Richie said as he grabbed Backpack, a helmet, some zap caps, and a pair of rollerblades.

"_Hurry," _Was the last thing Virgil said before they disconnected.

"Um…what do you think you're doing?" Lux asked.

"I'm coming too, I want to help." Richie replied.

"You're a civilian, this is too dangerous and besides it's your fault he got kidnapped in the first place." Lux told him, "Ebon got the idea that Virgil was Static because you're always around when Static's around."

"Then why didn't he assume the same about you two?" Richie questioned.

"Because we've just showed up on the radar, there's no way to connect us with anyone, yet." Lux explained.

"I'm still coming." Richie stated as he began to walk towards the exit but Lux stopped him.

"No, and that's final." She shook her head.

Morgan, knowing that this is what Richie was supposed to do walked over to Lux and placed a hand on her clothed back. They looked at each other for awhile, silently communicating before Lux moved out of Richie's way.

"Alright, you're bang baby. So show us what you got? Lead the way."

Richie smiled at her before they walked out of the gas station. Outside, Richie gave the girls Shock Voxes before they flew into the air. Putting on his skates he activated Backpack and began to float in the air, the rockets in his skates were activated. Clumsily he flew up to where the girls were stifling laughter.

"What are those?" Nitrix asked.

"My _jetblades_, they are my latest creation." Richie grinned proudly.

Nitrix rolled her eyes, "Whatever nerd wonder, now show us to this juvie hall."

Richie nodded as he put on his helmet and flew off in the direction of the detention center, Matrix and Nitrix right behind him.

--

As they neared the detention center Nitrix spotted Talon sitting atop a building. Beside her, Matrix was stabling Richie as he got used to his jetblades. When they all caught sight of the bird metahuman, Matrix lost her concentration and sent Richie slamming into Talon, knocking her out.

"Ah! I'm so sorry Richie!" Matrix gasped while Nitrix snicked.

"Come on, now we can take them by surprise." The white haired pyro said as she landed on the ground below.

Matrix and Richie followed suit and they all walked into the detention center together. Upon entering they encountered Kangorr who looked at them in surprise before attacking. Ensuring that their cover wasn't blown Matrix stopped him in mid air and Richie used a zap cap to restrain him. Then he was dropped to the floor and Nitrix happily knocked him out.

"You two go find Virgil; I'll take care of Ebon." Richie told the girls before he went off towards the room Kangorr had come from.

The girls nodded before running off in the direction of the cells. As Richie looked for Ebon, Shiv walked out and spotted him.

"Hey!" He exclaimed and his arms turned to blades.

"Ah, crap." Richie frowned as he dodged the blades, pulled out a zap cap, and restrained Shiv.

Then he walked over to the doorway and looked inside. Just as Virgil had suspected, he was being watched. Using Backpack, Riche directed the robot over to the TVs, silently praying that Ebon wouldn't see the machine. When Backpack had plugged itself into the TVs, Richie did a small victory dance before turning to see if the girls had freed Static.

"Richie!" Matrix exclaimed as she, Nitrix, and Static approached him.

"We took care of most of the job V, but we left Ebon just for you." Richie smirked.

Static smiled as he entered the room to face off with Ebon.

"You didn't do too badly for a nerd wonder." Nitrix commented.

"That's Mr. Nerd Wonder to you." Richie proclaimed.

"I'm so proud of you Richie! So do you plan to officially join the team?" Matrix asked.

"I do, but I'll need a name." Richie smiled sheepishly at her.

"Indeed you do." Static said as he walked out with Ebon, "And thanks to you, my identity is still safe."

"Hey we helped!" Matrix pouted.

"Come on; let's get these guys back to jail." Nitrix sighed pulling her sister with her as she went to grab Kangorr.

--

"So how do I look?" Richie asked as he admired himself and his new suit in the mirror.

"You look like a superhero." Morgan smiled.

"And you're acting like Sharon; get from in front of that mirror." Virgil joked.

"Now you just need a name." Lux added.

"I've been thinking, it could be something like Hardware or Steel." Richie mused.

"No, I like Nerd Wonder." Lux suggested.

Richie glared at her but smiled when Morgan walked up to him and gazed at him, she knew the perfect name for him.

"It has to be something in relation to your power. You build a lot of inventions, and you've got a lot of…gear." She said not taking her eyes from his.

Richie smiled as he realized what she meant, "Gear, it's perfect."

"I knew you'd like it." Morgan smiled.

And once again Lux and Virgil looked at each, just knowing.

--

**YAY! Richie is Gear now! And from now on, most of the chapters will be selected Static Shock episodes with the girls' plot mixed in. Now go review and tell me what you think! **

**Later!**


	6. His Mistake

**Chapter Six: His Mistake**

**--**

When Lux walked into her home she wanted to scream. Knowing that her sister was about to have a fit, Morgan rushed to her side and placed a calming hand on her sister's shoulder. Closing her eyes, Lux silently willed the familiar stranger to leave but knew that the woman would not. Standing in front of her was the same scientist who had begun all those experiments on them, calling it research. All the pain she felt in the first ten years of her life came rushing to her at once and she took a threatening step towards the woman.

"Why are you here?" She ground out.

"Relax Lux, I'm not here for the reasons you think." The woman told her.

"Dr. Crane came to see how you girls were doing. Nothing more, which means you can calm down Lux." James stepped in, standing in between the deadly metahuman and the defenseless scientist.

"I see that your instincts still get the better of you Lux Aeterna. You should really learn to practice better judgment, think before you attack." Dr. Crane scolded.

"I am thinking, I'm thinking of what you'll look like when I rip your throat for lying to me," The pyro took a step back and gestured to herself and Morgan, "What do you _really _want?"

Dr. Crane chuckled as she adjusted her glasses, her eyes never leaving the girls, "You're a real treasure Lux. And you're right; I came here because I have a mission for you."

Lux growled as she watched Dr. Crane hand her father a manila folder. As James read the files, his face changed from worry to disdain and back to worry again.

"I don't want them doing this." James argued, handing the folder back to Dr. Crane.

"They don't have a choice in the matter James, you signed the contract. If we call, they must answer or they will be taken back." Dr. Crane narrowed her eyes at the family, "You don't want to be taken back do you girls?"

"We'll do it Daddy, we made a promise and we have to keep it." Morgan lamented while Lux simply growled and glared and Dr. Crane.

"Smart young ladies you both are, everything you need is inside that folder. Have a nice day." Seconds later Dr. Crane was gone.

James could only stare at the ground as Morgan took the folder from his hands and went upstairs to her room and read it. Lux stood at the window, watching the scientist leave before turning to her father.

"Next time, we'd both like a heads up before we get home that she's here. I won't be so…_tame_ next time." Then she opened the front door and walked out.

Upstairs Morgan ran her hands over the file. They were going to track and capture a metahuman, her name was Shanice. _She's just like us_…Morgan thought sadly. Her parents had stolen her away to keep her safe. She wasn't granted freedom like Morgan and Lux had been. The mentalist felt empathetic towards the girl. Nevertheless, they had to do their job.

"Are you not talking to me either?" She heard from her doorway.

"It's okay Daddy, I'm not as angry as Lux is." Morgan smiled sadly at him.

"This whole thing is my fault; I should have refused to sign that contract. I never thought you'd be called in so early." He sat down beside her on the bed.

"If you hadn't, we would still be stuck in the military base, unable to do anything. You gave us a chance to be normal, Lux just hasn't realized that. She's so used to be a weapon…" Morgan trailed off.

"I knew she was still too young then. I wasn't thinking though, I was being a soldier, not a father." James' voice broke.

"She's forgiven you Daddy, I know she has," Morgan hugged him, "So please, stop feeling guilty. It was years ago."

James couldn't help but to feel guilty though. He had played a part in stealing his youngest daughter's innocence all those years ago…

--

"_Daddy, I don't like it in here. It's too dark." A young Lux whimpered as she clung to her father's leg._

_James simply patted her on the head as he crept quietly beside her. Ahead of her, another soldier shushed her and she nodded, not entirely sure why she had to be so quiet. Up ahead, the tunnel they were walking was coming to an end as light came in._

"_Look Daddy! The end of the tunnel!" Lux whispered excitedly._

_James shushed her as he ran ahead and peeked outside. When he turned back and nodded, the rest of the soldiers hurried after him and ran into the light. Lux stopped as gunfire began to ring in her ears. Now she knew what was going on and why she had to come. Tears stung her eyes as she ran forward, looking out of the tunnel to see her father shooting various men and women. _

"_Daddy!" She yelled._

_James turned and looked at her, "LUX! Get rid of them!" He yelled to her._

"_Don't let them hurt your Daddy girl!" Another soldier yelled._

_Her daddy was going to be hurt? This both angered and frightened her. She just stood there frozen as the fight went on. These people, they were bad, she had to stop them. Hearing her father yell, her anger won out and Lux found herself growing warmer and warmer as though she was on fire._

"_Oh my god," A soldier gasped as Lux approached them, flames raging around her._

"_Get away from my father!" She screamed the blaze extended and everything was aflame._

_The white fire burned as pained cries echoed around her. The soldiers had backed away from the massacre the young girl had begun. Bodies lay everywhere, some still burning. Lux felt a hand on her shoulder and look up at her father. She smiled at him, not seeing the fear in his eyes._

"_I did it Daddy, they won't hurt you now. I killed them all." She chirped._

"_Yea…you did." James whispered. _

_He had never been so ashamed of himself in his entire life. That night, Lux sobbed in her sleep as the nightmare of that day began to haunt her. James cried as well because he realized that, even though she had saved a lot of people that day…his daughter had destroyed herself in the process._

--

A week had passed since the girls were visited by Dr. Crane and received their assignment. Life had resumed as normal for them, or as normal as it could be.

"Lux, your boyfriend is on a rampage again." Static snickered as he pulled on his mask.

Nitrix glared at him before curtly responding, "He's not my boyfriend."

"He better not be." Matrix snapped as they flew to the movie theater where Hotstreak was causing mayhem.

"You call this a movie?! It was horrible!" The pyromaniac yelled as the theater behind him burned with as much ferocity as his rage.

"He's insane." Nitrix commented.

"And yet you _like _him." Static grinned.

Nitrix ignored him as she landed in front of Hotstreak. He gave her a scrutinizing look before lighting up and Nitrix did the same.

"The movie couldn't have been that bad." She told him to which he scoffed.

"It doesn't even deserve to be in theaters." Hotstreak remarked.

"Maybe you didn't like it because you didn't have anyone to enjoy it with." Nitrix sneered.

"You offering?" Hotstreak smirked before he attacked.

Nitrix blocked his fireball and charged him. She delivered a wave of fire that knocked him into the building behind him.

"I never said I was." She growled as the fire raged in front of her.

"Nitrix, put the fire out! We'll take care of Hotstreak." Gear yelled to her as Matrix separated the redhead from the flames.

Nitrix nodded as she ran into the building. While she was gone Matrix, Static, and Gear took on Hotstreak. Matrix kept his flames at bay while Gear threw an electrically charged zap cap on him. Though it restrained him for a moment, the pyro unleashed a powerful field of fire as he broke free, successfully knocking the heroes back.

"Dammit." Gear hissed as he hit the wall and slid down.

Matrix and Static joined him as Hotstreak began walking toward him. Suddenly a he was knocked back by a flash of purple. Staggering backwards, the pyro came face to face with a girl.

"Ooh, you need to pull your pants up hothead." She commented before she spun herself into a tornado and sent Hotstreak flying into a nearby fountain.

With Hotstreak taken care of, the mystery heroine approached the other heroes and smiled at them, offering Matrix a hand.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Yea, thanks. Who are you?" Matrix answered.

"I'm a bang baby, just like you. That's why I call myself She-Bang." She-Bang smiled.

"But I'm not…" Matrix trailed off as she looked at her comrades who were brushing themselves off.

"Where's Nitrix?" Static asked.

His reply was the theater flames disappearing and Nitrix appearing with a group of civilians who had been trapped inside.

"Now that's a girl who knows how to get the job done." She-Bang remarked.

"You got that right, and who are you." Nitrix questioned, crossing her arms and glaring at She-Bang.

"I'm She-Bang, and I just helped your friends." She-Bang explained.

"Uh huh, did they ask for your help?" Nitrix's voice was cool and unfriendly.

She-Bang didn't reply but instead nodded and backed away. Off in the distance, sirens blared and the newcomer decided to take her leave.

"See you around." She said before leaping onto a nearby balcony and disappearing.

Matrix glared at her sister once She-Bang was gone, "Could you have been anymore of a bitch?"

"Actually, yes I could have. I don't like her." Nitrix commented.

"Why not? She just _helped _us Lux, what's so bad about that." Matrix demanded.

"Everything," Nitrix hissed before turning and taking off, soaring out of sight.

Matrix groaned and shook her head. She knew exactly why Lux had acted the way she did. She had felt threatened. And when she felt threatened, she didn't care who she hurt.

"Let's go Matrix," Static said placing a hand on the mentalist's shoulder.

Matrix nodded and they left just as the police were putting Hotstreak in the back of the car.

--

The next day at Burger Fool, Lux was staring at Virgil and Richie in disgust as they devoured their cheeseburgers. Morgan laughed at her sister's face as she sipped her vanilla milkshake.

"Those poor cows," Lux remarked as Richie wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"It's your own fault, we told you were coming here and you decided to come anyway. It's not our fault this place isn't vegetarian friendly." Virgil smirked.

"What are you talking about? You begged us to come here." Lux scoffed.

"What are _you _talking about?" Morgan put her head in her hands as the two began to argue.

"Hey guys!" The four turned to see Daisy, Frieda, and a girl that Virgil and Richie didn't recognize but Morgan and Lux did.

_Shanice…_Morgan thought looking at Lux who nodded.

"What's up Daisy?" Virgil asked, his intention to flirt with her becoming obvious.

"We wanted you guys to meet Shanice, she's new to Dakota. Shanice this is Virgil Hawkins, Richie Foley, Morgan Willows, and Lux Aeterna." Daisy responded, blushing as she did so.

"Nice to meet you Shanice, how are you liking Dakota?" Richie inquired, standing up and shaking the newcomer's hand.

"It's pretty quiet here actually, but I'll get used to it."Shanice smiled as her eyes scanned over Virgil, Morgan, and…Lux.

Shanice immediately felt wary under the white haired girl's gaze. She managed a small smile which Lux returned, but hers had hidden malice within it.

"Nice to meet you Shanice," Morgan beamed.

"Same here." The following silence was heavy as Shanice sat down with Frieda and Daisy, beside the other four teens.

"So we wanted to have a rematch at the bowling alley." Daisy said, breaking the silence and looking at Virgil.

He and Richie laughed, "What? Last time's beating wasn't good enough for you?"

"Well this time we have a secret weapon, Shanice." Frieda pointed out.

"You bowl?" Virgil asked Shanice.

"A little bit, I'm not very good though." Shanice admitted.

"Some secret weapon you got there but if it's a rematch you want then you'll get one." Virgil snickered.

"Okay, see you Friday then." The three girls stood up, Daisy smiling at Virgil, and walked out.

Lux chuckled under her breath, her eyes still on Shanice.

"You guys sure are being quiet." Richie commented.

The sisters just smiled in response.

--

**Yea, I'm leaving out the fight they have where She-Bang comes in. Only because I have something better in mind. You'll see what it is next chapter. Until then, later!**

**Don't forget to review! **


	7. Night Shade

**Chapter Seven: Night Shade**

**--**

The bowling alley was in an uproar as Shanice bowled yet another strike. Virgil and Richie were on the verge of tears as Frieda and Daisy hugged Shanice and cheered.

"What was that about beatings?" Daisy asked as she picked up her ball to bowl.

"This sucks, we should have asked Lux or Morgan to bowl with us." Richie frowned.

"And we would have said no, that's exploitation." Lux chimed as she sat down beside him.

Morgan was talking animatedly with Frieda but Lux knew her sister was really trying to find out more about Shanice. They had called Dr. Crane to let her know that the girl had been found. To say the scientist had been wildly ecstatic was an understatement. Apparently Shanice had cost a lot of money.

"Okay Shanice, if you make this strike you'll have a perfect score!" Frieda exclaimed, abandoning Morgan to cheer for Shanice.

The mentalist gestured for Lux to come to her and the pyro complied.

"I think this is enough proof for us to conclude that we've got our girl." Morgan sighed.

"Now the question is, how do we get to her? Crane wants her in the next 24 hours." Lux questioned.

"Well, thanks to me, I tore down her weak mental block and found out that she is the same person that She-Bang is." Morgan frowned. Lux could tell her sister was not at all happy about the assignment.

"It has to be done Morgan, there's no helping it. If you want, I'll take care of the whole thing." Lux assured her.

"I know Luxy, that doesn't it mean I have to like it though. And how do you plan on catching her?" Morgan inquired curiously.

Before Lux could answer, the bowling alley erupted into groans of defeat as Shanice missed her final strike, not getting a perfect score.

"Why'd she mess up?" Lux wondered, looking around for a possible cause.

She found her answer when she saw Shanice walking to two adults who looked less than happy. She assumed that they were Shanice's "parents."

"Come on, we need to go." Morgan whispered grabbing Lux's hand and they disappeared into the crowd.

--

James nearly had a heart attack when he saw his youngest daughter later that night. Lux looked up and smiled sheepishly at him as she sipped up her black long sleeved catsuit.

"Your hair!" He managed to gasp out.

"I had to dye it Daddy, the white hair is a dead giveaway." Lux explained. She unconsciously played with the strands of her temporarily black hair.

"And your eyes?" He went on.

"Also a dead-ringer, please try to understand. It's only for tonight anyway. Has Crane called?" Lux walked past him to where Morgan stood with a tiny Bluetooth.

"She's sending a team of agents, they should arrive by the time you have captured the target." James told her.

With the Bluetooth in her ear, Lux nodded to her sister and Morgan. Morgan put a hand on her shoulder.

"Be safe okay? And try not to give yourself away." The mentalist teased.

"I'll be back soon, don't worry." Lux said as she headed to the window James had opened for her.

Morgan watched as her sister descended to the ground and disappeared to into the shadows. It was times like these she understood why Lux was the one to undergo missions such as this one. She had enough control to keep from panicking when put into a dangerous situation. It was something Morgan still had to master but that didn't stop the mentalist from being extremely protective of the pyro. That would never change.

Miles away Lux stalked the alleyways of Dakota, her instincts expanded to find She-Bang who she knew was roaming the streets. An angry Virgil had given that away when he called to complain about how She-Bang had shown he and Gear up because she and Morgan had not been there. Lux had laughed, careful to not tell that the reason she couldn't be hero was because she was about to play villain for a few hours.

She spotted her target standing atop one of Dakota's hotels.

"Found her." She said, knowing Morgan could hear her in the Bluetooth.

"_Good, I'll pinpoint your location and send the coordinates to Crane's team." _Morgan responded.

Lux smirked as she smoothed a black mask over her face. As she scaled the building she was standing by she saw something she hadn't expected, Static had shown up.

"Shit." She hissed.

"_What?" _Morgan asked.

"Static's here." Lux told her.

"_Dammit, just knock him out." _Morgan sighed.

She didn't like that idea, Static was her friend. But it had to be done for the sake of a mission. Reaching the top of the building she pulled out two miniature bombs and sent them flying towards the two heroes. When they went off, Lux jumped from her position and landed in front of She-Bang.

"You're coming with me." She hissed as She-Bang charged at her.

She ducked as the female metahuman sent a roundhouse kick towards her torso. She swept her feet under She-Bang's, too fast for the girl to see, and knocked the hero off her feet. With Shanice down, Lux turned her attention to Static who was staring at her with a mixture of shock and anger in his eyes.

"Who are you?!" He demanded, sending a ball of electricity her way.

It was easily dodged as Lux's eyes began to glow and the ground beneath them began to shake. From it erupted something Lux hadn't seen in a while, black fire. As the street cracked open and the fire protruded from it Lux approached Static.

"The name's Night Shade." She smiled wickedly as she sent him flying backwards into a building.

With Static out of the way, Night Shade turned back to She-Bang just in time to stop the girl's latest attack. She-Bang shrieked in pain as Night Shade began to crush her fist.

"You're not supposed to be here, are you?" Night Shade asked.

"Wha? How do you know that?" She-Bang finally pulled away.

Night Shade just smiled as a knock out gas began to fill the female hero's lungs, lulling her to sleep.

"Good job Aeterna," One of the agents said as Night Shade shielded herself from the effects of the gas.

"No problem, now get out of here." She hissed and the agent quickly did what she was told.

While watching Shanice be taken away, Night Shade didn't notice Static behind her until he had slammed her into a wall, hand wrapped firmly around her neck.

"Where are they taking her?!" He questioned.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Night Shade leered.

Before he could answer she faded into shadow and disappeared. A few feet away, an agent stood with a cell phone.

"Mission was successful, Shanice has been captured. She will be put on a plane at dawn." He heard and his eyes widened. Shanice was in trouble.

--

Hours later Static, Gear, Nitrix, and Matrix were standing in Shanice's living room. Her mother had pulled out a picture to show them.

"She was created to be bio-weapon, the third one to exist." She explained.

"What happened to the other two?" Matrix asked, earning looks from her teammates.

"They were granted freedom. We sought the same for Shanice but those scientists…they refused. They told us they had more in mind for her." Shanice's father spat.

"We never understood why those two could be let go, one of them…was a monster." Nitrix tensed up, refusing the urge to hurt Shanice's parents.

"They only saw Shanice as a weapon, but to us, she was our baby. We couldn't let her stay and suffer like that." Her mother's voice became thick with remorse.

As the parents grieved, Matrix looked at Nitrix.

_We made a mistake, _Matrix told her sister.

_We were doing our job. Do you want to go back? _

_No…but by keeping our freedom, we sacrificed someone else's. _Nitrix closed her eyes, knowing her sister had a point.

"We'll get her back." The pyro assured them, "She'll be brought back to you."

"Thank you, you don't know how much this means to us." Shanice's mother smiled sadly.

"Let's go." Nitrix said turning and walking out.

The others followed after out as a truck pulled up in front of the house. Nitrix growled, they had said nothing about taking the girl's parents.

"Go, find her, I'll take of them." Static said, nodding to Nitrix.

"We'll need that truck though." Nitrix looked to Gear who nodded.

The men groaned as they clung to the truck, the police on their way to rescue them. Inside the truck Gear hacked into the computer to find out where Shanice is.

"The Dakota Airport, that's where she is," He told them.

He and Static watched as Nitrix exploded into the air. Matrix followed after her as they rushed to the airport. When they got there, the plane was taking off.

"We're not going to make it!" Gear yelled as he and Static finally caught up.

Nitrix and Matrix scoffed at him before they sped up, catching up to the plane. Gripping one the wings, Nitrix burned a hole inside the plan and she and Matrix climbed in. They nodded to Shanice who gasped at the sight of them.

"You okay?" Nitrix asked.

"Yea!" Shanice exclaimed as Matrix knocked out two of the guards approaching them.

Nitrix bent down and burned the cuffs of Shanice's wrists, freeing her. Shanice thanked her as they headed to the captain's bay and Nitrix sat down beside him.

"You've ten seconds," was all she had to say before the plane began to turn around.

Back on the ground Shanice ran and hugged her parents as the heroes watched. Static looked at Nitrix, which bothered the pyro.

"What?!" She demanded.

"What changed your mind? I thought you hated her." He inquired with a leery smirk on his face.

"I realized…she's just like me. That's all." Nitrix replied as Shanice walked over to them.

"Thank you guys, I owe you all my life." She said.

"At least now you'll be safe, right?" Matrix smiled.

"Yea, they're going to give us the best protection." Shanice replied before looking at Nitrix who was staring at her.

"Um…so bye." She said, backing away.

"You're not so bad…She-Bang." Nitrix smirked before steppig forward and offering Shanice her hand. Shanice grinned as she shook it.

"Thanks, maybe we can team up again sometime soon. I really want to get my hands on that girl, Night Shade." Nitrix frowned at the mention of her dark alter ego.

"Who knows, maybe we will." Static said as Shanice waved goodbye for the last time before getting into a car with her parents and being taken away.

"Night Shade?" Gear asked.

"The one who handed Shanice over to those guys, she puts the itch in bitch." Static answered.

"Crude Virgil, very crude and highly unnecessary." Nitrix commented before she took off.

"…She and Night Shade are two of a kind."

He had no idea.

--

**Done! I'm so excited! Now before you ask, Night Shade will have a few more appearances. She's basically the female equivalent to Red X from Teen Titans. Lux only moonlights as her when she needs to go undercover as a villain. I hope you guys like that idea. Anyways, I'm out. **

**Reviews please!**


	8. Getting Closer

**Chapter Eight: Getting Closer**

**--**

"I've got nothing; this girl is a real mystery." Richie sighed as he sat down by Virgil.

"Why can't you wait until she comes back out?" Lux asked, looking up from the book she was reading.

"She could be a potential threat, who knows what she could be doing right now." Virgil frowned.

_She could be sitting right in front of you, _Lux mused. It was Day Three of the Who is Night Shade investigation. It was beginning to grate on the girls' nerves. Of course, it bothered Lux more than it did Morgan.

"You two should really give it a rest, please?" Morgan asked, looking pointedly at Richie.

"Yea V, I think we should stop investigating for today." The genius said, smiling at the blonde girl.

Virgil wanted to say something, he really did but a icy glance from Lux told him to not pursue the topic.

"We'll talk about it some more later then, right now I'm hungry. Hey Lux, come with me on a food run." He said, hoping Lux knew what he was implying.

"Alright then," Lux smirked.

Morgan waved goodbye as the two left, leaving her and Richie alone. An awkward silence ensued as the two looked at each other, Morgan smiling and Richie blushing.

"So…why are you guys so determined to find out who this Night Shade person is?" Morgan asked to end the silence.

"I personally think that V's attracted to her but he insists it's because she's a dangerous threat." Richie joked, feeling at ease with the mentalist.

"She sounds a lot like Lux; they seem to have a lot in common." Morgan mused, knowing that her words would take immediate suspicion off her sister.

"They do, but according to Virgil, Lux is a kitten compared to Night Shade." Richie laughed.

"Is that so?" Morgan giggled.

The room became silent again, but this time it was a comfortable silence. Richie studied Morgan as she picked up the book Lux reading.

"You knew didn't you?" Richie asked.

"Hmm?" Morgan looked at him.

"You knew that…all this…it would happen. That Virgil and I would meet you guys and I'd become Gear and everything." Richie clarified.

"If you're insinuating that I know who Night Shade is, I don't." Her voice was unintentionally cold, surprising Richie.

"I didn't mean it like that, it's just, it must be cool to be psychic." He lamented and Morgan immediately regretted accusing him.

"I used to think it was…" Morgan sighed.

"What do you mean?" Richie asked.

"When I first acquired the ability to read minds, I loved it. It didn't matter who the person was, I wanted to know what they were thinking. I found out some pretty damn fascinating things. I read my father's mind and saw my mother, I read my father's boss's mind and found out he was having an affair with his secretary. I read my tutor's mind and found out she didn't finish college. I felt like the ultimate secret-keeper." Morgan explained.

"What happened? The novelty wore off?" Richie asked.

"I began to read the minds of the other experiments there, since now you know that Lux and I weren't the only ones. The things they thought about, it was pretty traumatizing. I even went as far to read Lux's mind…" She trailed off as she remembered the screams that always echoed in Lux's head.

"It was that bad?" Richie asked.

"I was so surprised that she had controlled herself so well, the night Shanice's parents called her a monster." Morgan sniffed.

"Your sister may be many things but she's not a monster Morgan, we all know that." Richie consoled her.

"You didn't see what I saw…I'm so protective of her. But I know she doesn't need me, I hear it in her thoughts every time she looks at me." Morgan smiled sadly.

"Why do you protect her then? You put that weight on your shoulders, knowing it's hurting you." He built enough nerve to get up and approach her.

He stopped short when he felt power protruding from her, an invisible force field.

"She killed 34 people Richie, 34 people, and she was only eight years old." Morgan whispered.

"And you?" He asked, knowing he should not have.

"I can't stand killing bugs, let alone a person. I feel so inadequate compared to her." Morgan sighed.

"You know what I think? I think you're just as good as Lux. Sure she may be badass and what not but you have something she doesn't have." He felt her shield drop and he put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"What's that?" Morgan asked.

"Humanity, it's what sets you two apart. You feel when she doesn't and that, in itself, is an admirable quality." Richie grinned.

Morgan looked up at him, a light blush gracing her facial features as she beamed at him.

"Thanks Richie, that means a lot."

That night Morgan sat on the roof of the house watching the sky. Lux was gone again and for the first time in years, she wasn't worried. Richie had helped her realize that Lux wasn't her responsibility and the pyro was certainly capable of taking care of herself.

--

"_Lux is gone again? I wonder where she goes." _Richie said as Morgan picked out something to wear to school the next day.

"I really don't know either, she's learn to block me from entering her thoughts." Morgan frowned.

It was true, unless Lux wanted her in, Morgan was shut out. It made Morgan wonder what her sister had to hide.

"_Maybe she's secretly meeting Hotstreak, like in Romeo in Juliet." _Richie laughed.

Morgan readjusted the phone on her shoulder as she laughed with him. She hoped her sister was meeting up with the convict, Morgan really didn't like him.

"I hope not, my dad would blow a gasket. He doesn't want us dating until we're both 16." Morgan told Richie.

"_Both of you? What's the age difference_?" Richie asked.

"Uh…three months I believe. But yea, until Lux turns 16 I'm out of luck." Morgan grinned.

"_Well that just kills my chances." _Richie teased.

"Aw, you were going to ask me out? How sweet." Morgan laughed.

A knock on the door turned her attention away from Richie for a few moments. Opening it she came face to face with Dr. Crane.

"Hey Rich, I have to go. I'll talk to you later." She said before hanging up on the genius.

"Good evening Morgan, you have a boyfriend already? That's nice." Dr. Crane remarked.

"What do you want?" Morgan spat.

"Well since your recent failure, I've made it my job to come and check up on you girls, to make sure you're not losing your edge." Dr. Crane declared.

"Our failure? We did not fail, Lux apprehended the girl. It was your agents who failed to keep her in their custody." Morgan smirked.

Dr. Crane adjusted her glasses as she stared down the metahuman girl but Morgan was not wavering. Much to Crane's dismay, Morgan had had a point. Lux had caught Shanice and delivered her to Crane's supposed team of _specialists. _The fugitive had escaped mere hours later.

"Where is your sister anyway?" Changing the topic seemed to be the best idea to Crane at the moment.

"I don't know, she leaves when the sun goes down and returns when it comes up. She doesn't tell me anything." Morgan's voice was steely.

Crane nodded, "So her insomnia hasn't gone away? It's been seven years; you'd think she'd forget about it by now." Morgan resisted the urge to choke the woman.

"Go away Dr. Crane, and it'd be in your best interest to never come back." The venom in her voice surprised both her and Dr. Crane. For a few moments she actually sounded like Lux.

"I will take my leave, but you are still bound by contract Willows, you still have duties and you will adhere to them. Have a nice night."

Morgan watched as Crane descended the stairs before she closed her door. Walking over to the window she looked out, willing herself her mind to reach out and find Lux. She felt sick and it could only mean one thing. The future was beginning to look grim, for the both of them.

She hoped she could change it in time.

--

**A bit of a filler chapter, focusing on Morgan. I really like her character, probably more than I like Lux's. What do you think? Review and tell me.**

**Later! **


	9. No More Control

**Chapter Nine: No More Control**

**--**

Morgan frowned as Richie brushed past her without a word for the fourth time that school day. It wasn't this action that made her worry though, it was the fact that when she tried to probe his mind to find out what was wrong, she could only go in so far before being kicked out. She could only watch as Richie walked away from her, not knowing what was wrong. At lunch she looked for Virgil, hoping the genius' best friend would know something.

"Is it me or is Richie being…weird?" Virgil asked when Morgan approached him.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," She sat down, "Ever since we got back from the Watchtower he's been that way."

Virgil gazed at her, knowing that Richie's situation was the only thing bothering her.

"Lux still refuses to come back?" He asked.

"She likes it up there, who am I to deny her that?" Morgan lamented.

Lux had decided to stay with the Justice League a little longer, per Batman's request. He had wanted to learn a little more about the girls through research and Lux volunteered to be the test subject. Morgan wanted to object but a fierce and dangerous thought from Lux entered her mind…so she backed off.

"I hope she gets back soon though, I worry for her." The mentalist whispered.

"She'll be fine; I'm more concerned about Richie. Can't you look into his head and see what's wrong?" Virgil inquired.

"I've tried, but each time, when I reach a certain point I'm shut out." Morgan responded with a sigh.

She'd always been able to get into anyone's mind with no resistance. The only exception was Lux, and Morgan would rather stay out of her sister's head anyway. When she told this to Virgil he became confused.

"Maybe there's something in his head…?" Virgil tried and Morgan took this into great consideration.

She'd never understood mind control or anything of the like. Her style of hypnosis was just to render the person unconscious, never to control their actions.

"You mean like another entity?" Morgan asked and that's when it hit her as she recalled her conversation with Richie the night before.

"_Backpack's been acting weird since we got back." _

"Braniac!" She exclaimed.

Virgil's eyes widened when he realized what she was saying. Braniac had taken control of Richie. They had to get to the League!

--

"Where's Flash?" Lux asked as she walked into the main computer room.

"Out looking for your friend Gear, we think he may have taken Braniac with him." Batman informed her.

"What do you mean?" Her features changing from stoic to worry.

"A bunch of files were downloaded from the Watchtower's computer before Braniac was seemingly destroyed. We think the virus may have stowed itself away onto Gear's…_backpack._" Batman's explanation only increased Lux's worry.

"I need to get down there." She stated and was grateful when Batman nodded.

"We all do, it's been over an hour since Flash left. He should have found the kid by now." Green Lantern told them as he walked in, "The jet is ready."

"Let's go Nitrix." Lux hurried after them.

As they flew to Earth, Lux wondered if Morgan was okay. J'onn had just explained to her how Braniac could take over one's mind and control them. She feared the repercussions that would occur if Braniac got into Morgan's head. The entire nation would be compromised. It was Lux's responsibility to keep that from happening, it was her sole purpose and why she was created: to keep her sister from harm and keep the nation's military secrets…a secret.

Dr. Crane made that very clear years ago.

--

_Morgan nearly cried as she watched Lux kicked repeatedly while the latter tried to defend herself from several mercenaries. The whole thing was simply a simulation but the pain was real, that Morgan knew. Lux knew this as well as she stood up, albeit slowly. _

"_You're pathetic girl!" One of the mercenaries yelled at the pyro._

_Morgan rattled the bars of the cage she was trapped in, Lux was supposed to save her. Behind her, one of the men approached her. She turned and her eyes widened as he pulled out a switchblade and smirked at her._

"_So what is it you keep in that pretty little head of yours?" He asked as he pulled Morgan out of the cage and put the blade to her throat._

"_LUX!" Morgan's strangled scream rang out._

_Then everything went black._

--

"Lux! Why are you back so soon?" Morgan asked as she hugged her sister.

"We've got a problem, it's Richie." Lux told her.

"We know, he's been taken over by Braniac, we've been trying to find him for the past couple hours." Morgan sighed.

"We can locate him, Flash was sent to find him and we can track him." Batman announced and the teens nodded.

"You two, go get dressed and we'll meet you at the Gas Station." Lux ordered her sister and Virgil, seeing as they were still in their civilian clothes.

Morgan was reluctant but took off towards her home anyway. When she got there she didn't even acknowledge her father as she raced upstairs. When she got there she stripped out of her civilian clothing and changed into her outfit as Matrix. She didn't hear her father come and stand in the doorway.

"I had a feeling it was you." His voice startled her.

She looked at him fear and sadness in her eyes, "I'm sorry Daddy, we should have told you. But we have to discuss this later, a friend of mine is in trouble."

He nodded and waved her off, "It's that Richie kid isn't it? I can tell, the fear in your eyes gives it away."

"He means a lot to me…" Morgan started but stopped, did this mean that she _liked _Richie?

"Go then, and we'll talk later tonight. Good luck Matrix and tell your sister I say hi." James smiled as he disappeared downstairs as Matrix put her mask on and headed for the window.

Nitrix met up with her halfway to the gas station. When they got there, the place was deserted except for a message taped to the door.

_Hey guys,_

_Meet me in the tech district downtown in warehouse 9_

_Richie_

"Obviously a trap but we have to go anyway. You got an idea on how we're going to free him?" Nitrix asked.

"I was hoping we could wing it." Matrix shrugged.

"We'll go ahead and scope it out, see if it's safe. You three should come with a plan to get your friend out of Braniac's control because if you can't…" Batman didn't need to say more.

"You'll kill him?!" Morgan demanded having read the Dark Knight's mind.

"We've got no choice if it'll take care of Braniac, think of all the people that could be hurt or killed. One life in comparison to thousands, think about that." Batman reasoned.

"You are not killing him, not!" Matrix called after him as he and the rest of the League took their leave to find Richie.

"They can't kill him, they just can't." She whispered to herself.

She never thought that a situation like _this _would make her realize just how much she really cared for Richie. When Ebon had tried to kidnap all those months ago she had been worried and was so relieved when the shadow had left Richie behind. She had been so proud of Richie when he became Gear, she could spend more time with him as well. Now his life was jeopardy, again, and she had to save him. She had to!

"They won't kill him Morgan, not when we have this." Matrix waved a small device in her face.

"Backpack's remote!" Matrix exclaimed.

"Yep, now let's go find them." Matrix smiled, knowing that Richie's situation was taking a toll on Morgan.

He hoped the two would tell each how they felt soon.

As they flew over the tech district, Matrix strained to hear the thoughts of the rest of the League but heard nothing.

"I can't hear their thoughts, this is bad." She told her comrades and they grimaced.

A loud explosion turned their attention back to the warehouse and they all landed to avoid being hit by any flying debris. Hurrying inside they saw Richie and the League standing in a line, Richie towering over them.

"Nice of you to join us." Richie's voice was computerized, making Matrix's heart wrench.

"Richie…no Braniac, what have you done?" The mentalist questioned.

Braniac-Richie answered by snapping his fingers and three tiny probes flew towards the heroes. They attached themselves to the back of their necks, putting them under Braniac's control. Braniac-Richie's triumphant smiled when Matrix and Static glared at him.

"No one controls me but me." Matrix snapped.

"The same can't be said about your sister though, I'm afraid." Braniac-Richie laughed as he pointed at the pyro.

Matrix's eyes widened as she shielded herself from a fireball. Static did the same as Nitrix approached them, clearly under Brainiac-Richie's control.

"Kill them, then we'll initiate phase two of my plan." Brainiac-Richie ordered the rest of the League.

Matrix found herself under a lot of strain as she fought off the entire League and Nitrix. Static was having the same problem as he was knocked into a wall by Hawkgirl. Knowing the only way to get through this was turning Backpack off, Matrix thought of a plan. With a powerful wave of psychic energy she sent everyone but Nitrix flying backwards. _Lux can keep them at bay, but I've got to break her free from Brainiac. I think I know how. _

Static watched in horror as Matrix fell to the ground, screaming in pain. He tried to get to her but Hawkgirl and Green Lantern blocked his path.

"MORGAN!" He yelled to her.

Nitrix turned to see her sister's limp form as Wonder Woman picked her up. For a few seconds Matrix's eyes opened and she looked at the pyro. With everything she had she let out an ear piercing scream.

"LUX!" The scream ignited something within Nitrix; her sister was in grave danger and that was all that mattered at the moment. Her mind cleared up and she was no longer under Brainiac's control.

Wonder Woman hit the wall hard as Nitrix blasted her with a particularly powerful fireball. Matrix picked herself off the ground and smirked when her sister shook the living daylights out of her.

"Don't ever scare me like that again." Lux hissed.

"You're back to normal," Matrix smiled as Static managed to get to them, "I'm fine Virgil now here's the plan. You two keep the League away from me while I break the hold Brainiac has on Richie."

"And when Richie's free we shut off Backpack." Static added.

"Right, now let's get moving."

As they turned, Static and Nitrix immediately fended off the League while Matrix made her way towards Richie. _I've only got one chance. _Rushing to Richie she reached out with her hands and touched his forehead, entering his mind.

_If I fail, it'll kill both of us…_

--

_It was dark within Richie's mind, Morgan blamed that on Brainiac. As she wandered through, she looked for any sign of light or something that she could use to help Richie. _

"_Morgan…please…help me." _

_Morgan' s head snapped towards the direction of Richie's voice. _

"_Richie?" She called out, "Richie!"_

_It was silent but Morgan knew that Richie was there, trying to fight off Brainiac. Not wasting anytime she took off running in the direction of the voice. As she ran, she passed numerous memories. She saw some in black and white, and others in color. _

_A memory of Richie's father scolding him passed by in black and white. As more like these passed, Morgan figured out that memories Richie didn't like, had no color. A few color memories passed by as well, they almost always included Virgil and some even included Lux and Morgan. _Maybe I could use these to my advantage, _Morgan mused as she kept sprinting towards the sound of Richie's voice. It was growing fainter by the second. _

"_No Richie, you have to stay with me. If not, you'll die and Brainiac will have complete control." She told him._

_She'd die too but Richie's life was more important to her. She had to save him. Leaving the memories behind, she made it to the point where she was always forced out. _Not this time, _she thought as she walked up to a large door. She knew Richie lay on the other side of it and she had to free him._

_Closing her eyes and centering her focus, she recalled all the memories she had seen earlier and they swirled around her until they became a rainbow of energy. She focused that energy onto the door, unlocking it as she did so. Slowly the door began to open and Morgan hurried through it._

_When she got inside she was surprised to see Richie standing there, gazing at her._

"_Richie," She grinned._

_He stood up and walked towards her, smiling as well. Morgan was surprised when he wrapped his arms around her and put his forehead against hers. She was even more surprised when he kissed her, fully and passionately. When he pulled away he brought his lips to her ear. _

"_Morgan, there's so much I want to tell you." He breathed._

"_We can do that later, right now, you've got to get Brainiac out of your head." Morgan told him as she reluctantly pulled away, remembering why she was there in the first place._

_Richie nodded as the room around him became ablaze with light. Morgan gasped as she came face to face with Brainiac. He grinned evilly as he looked down at her. _

"_Get out of his head, now!" She ordered, her voice dripping with venom._

"_So you are the object of this human's affections. I find that I have no use of such sentimentalities." The virus spoke._

_Morgan looked at Richie, whose face was now blank, and willed him to snap out of it. He couldn't let Brainiac control him._

"_Richie, please, if you can hear me you have to fight off Brainiac. You have to so that we can be together. Isn't that what you want? Isn't it?" Morgan asked._

"_It…is." Richie strained as he blinked a few times. Morgan was breaking through._

"_If it's what you want then break free, break free and come to me." She held out her arms to him._

_Straining, Richie took one step towards her and Brainiac roared. Morgan simply kept her arms out, urging Richie to keep going. He did and soon it was becoming easier and easier for him to move. No longer was he walking then, he was sprinting. As he reached Morgan, his arms wrapped around her in a tight hug, Morgan could feel him shaking._

"_You're fine Richie, you're alright. Now it's time to wake up. Open your eyes Richie." She whispered to him._

"RICHIE! OPEN YOUR EYES!"

--

Richie's eyes flew open just in time for him to move out of the way of a flying Batman.

"You're awake!" Nitrix yelled to him.

He nodded as heard an inhuman roar.

"Guys, we need to shut Backpack off!" Richie turned to see Matrix standing a few feet behind him.

"Where's the remote?" Richie asked.

"There!" Matrix yelled as Static tossed the remote to them.

Richie grabbed, turned towards Backpack which Matrix had detached from him, and pressed a button on the remote. Immediately Backpack shut off and Brainiac roared as he lost his power source. The teens watched as he faded away before turning to the League.

"You guys okay?" Static asked sheepishly.

"Thanks to you we are." Green Lantern replied, placing a hand on Matrix's shoulder.

"Brainiac's gone…this time for good." Nitrix announced as she tossed Backpack to Richie.

"Let's all hope so," Matrix sighed in relief as she watched Richie tinker with Backpack.

His eyes left Backpack when he felt her gaze and he looked up at her. She smiled warmly before turning to talk to Wonder Woman. He blushed as he smiled and looked back at Backpack. _You did what I couldn't do, _he mused.

"Can we go home now?!"

Richie smiled, he guessed Lux wasn't going back to the Watchtower this time. He watched as Nitrix practically dragged her sister out of the warehouse, the mentalist struggling to get loose. When her eyes landed on Richie she blushed.

"Call me later!" She called to him.

Richie smiled, he was so going to call her.

--

**Longest one so far, yes I am aware that I skipped the first part. The thing is, I started to write it, got over halfway through it, forgot to save it and it was gone forever. So I became lazy, did this chapter (which was much easier to write btw) and it is the new chapter nine. I hope you guys can forgive me for my laziness and I'll continue to bring you amazing chapters of this story. Thanks.**

**Another thing, don't just favorite the story and subscribe to it. I love reviews! Give me some!**


	10. Atrum Aeterna Pt 1

**Chapter 10: Atrum Aeterna pt. 1**

–

"You're so lucky we don't have school tomorrow, or else I'd be at home sleeping." Morgan hissed at her sister as they watched the moon rise high in the sky.

"Chill out Morgan, breathe in the fresh night air. It's so relaxing." Down below a woman was being mugged. Morgan raised an eyebrow at her sister.

"Obviously, not relaxing enough." Lux smiled sheepishly as she followed her sister down a fire escape. Both landed in front of the mugger.

"It's not nice to hurt innocent women you scumbag." Morgan hissed as Lux shot a fireball at the guy, sending him flying backwards.

Morgan levitated the purse to the woman who hurriedly thanked them before running off. Lux gave Morgan a _look. _

"Trail her?" Morgan asked.

"She's a prime cut of meat for gang bangers everywhere." Lux smirked.

Morgan nodded and they both took off after the woman, making sure she got to her destination without being harmed. Off in the distance, two figures watched them. One was a boy, around the girls' age, with black hair and deep blue-violet eyes. The other was Dr. Crane.

"Those are your targets, got it? Follow them everywhere they go and if they ever separate, follow Lux. She's the one with white hair. Report to me every other day and don't give yourself away. Do you understand?"

"Yes Dr. Crane, I understand." The boy answered.

"Good, now go and follow them now. I want a full report the day after tomorrow." Dr. Crane ordered.

The boy responded by shape shifting into a black bird that flew off after the girls. Dr. Crane smiled, those girls were never going to get away, not as long as she lived.

–

_Lux dreamed..._

_There was screaming, so much screaming. Then there was blood, its stench made her sick. The sound of men yelling drowned out her father's voice. She's scared, afraid, something bad is about to happen. She has to save him._

_Fire...black fire, erupts around her. The ground shakes as the fire burns everything and everyone. The screams grow louder, the get higher. She's killing men...women...children. They fall before her, but she's doing this for a good cause. That's what they tell her. Her father will live. She can't let him die, he's all she's got. _

_And Morgan._

_Without them she has nothing, she is nothing. They complete her. She's feels so empty, the screams have stopped. Someone is scooping her up in their arms. It is her father. She smiles as she looks at him. Then she screams, it is not her father. It is a man in a white mask frowning down at her. His hands encircle her neck. She can't breathe._

"_Demon child! Kill her! Monster! Deserve to die!"_

_She did deserve to die. She deserved to have the life choked out of her. Her eyes begin to close. Morgan can't save her, neither can Daddy. She's all alone, she deserves to be alone. _

_All alone._

"_Lux...wake up."_

–

Lux's eyes shot open as she sat up in her bed. Wait, she realized, she had slept? Shaking her head, she climbed out of her bed and stood there. Something wasn't right, she had been asleep. Nothing could ever make her fall asleep. Not since that day...

Downstairs she heard a glass break. Looking at her alarm clock, she read 3:42 a.m. Were her father or Morgan up? Opening her bedroom door she walked downstairs and into the kitchen. She found no one, there was only broken glass on the floor. Someone was in her home.

"Who's there?" She growled, looking around.

There was no answer which only made her even more uneasy. If this person hurt her family. A creak behind caused her to whirl around and come face to face with a shadowy figure. She couldn't make out their face but red flags and alarms were going off in her mind. Danger, this person was danger.

"Who are you?" She snarled.

Their eyes glowed red and they gave a low dark chuckle before fading away. Lux lunged forward to catch them but got nothing. Frustrated she roared, waking up her father and Morgan. They came down to check on her but she ignored them both.

"Where's the hair dye?" Lux asked her sister.

"In the bathroom, Lux what's going on?" Morgan was worried.

"Someone was in here, and I intend to find out who." Lux hissed as she walked past them and went upstairs.

A half hour later, Night Shade stood atop the Dakota Clocktower, overlooking the streets. She already had one person in mind who could've broken into her home. Ebon. The person had been a shifting shadow after all. Leaping from the building, Night Shade took off towards the juvenile center, where Ebon and his crew still hung out. When she got there, she banged open the door and stormed in. She found the perpetrator sitting in front of several TVs, snoozing.

Ebon gasped when Night Shade wrapped her hand around his throat. "What the hell?!" Was his strangled plea.

"You're the only living shadow here in Dakota right?" Night Shade asked.

"Y-Yes, who are you?! L-let me go!" He gasped.

"You got any problems with the Willows family? Hmm?" Night Shade asked, squeezing before letting him talk.

"I don't know a Willows family, I've been here all night man. What is wrong with you?!"

Knowing he was telling the truth, Night Shade threw Ebon back into his chair before disappearing. The shaken bang baby was at a loss for words. He had heard the rumors but never thought they to be true. There was a new metahuman villain in town and her name was Night Shade.

Outside, Night Shade growled in anger. If it wasn't Ebon... then who attacked her family? Could it be that there was someone new roaming around Dakota? If so, then why target her family? It certainly wasn't a robbery, nothing was taken. It was more like the person was watching them. They were being spied on! But by who? Who needed to keep a watch on them so badly they'd send someone to spy?

"I'm such an idiot." Night Shade breathed when she realized who would do such a thing. Morgan had even warned her.

–

"_It's difficult to go on a date with Richie." Morgan sighed as she plopped down on the couch. Lux gave her a curious look._

"_How so?"_

"_Dr. Crane came her a few weeks back, before the Brainiac stuff went down. She said she was going to send people to watch us. Maybe she's caught wind of Nitrix and Matrix" Morgan explained._

"_And you think someone's watching right now?" Lux asked._

"_Could be...could be."_

–

Lux was noticeably absent at school the next day. Morgan was noticeably worried about this. Richie tried to comfort her but she wouldn't have it.

"I haven't seen her since she had this blow up this morning." Morgan told him and Virgil.

"What happened?" Virgil asked, he was worried to. Even more so than he let on.

"She was in the living room, she woke my dad and I when she screamed and when we got down to her...she told us someone broke in. No doubt she went to look for them. What if she's hurt or dead?" Morgan's eye filled with tears.

Richie hugged her tightly as Virgil thought of a plan. They needed to find Lux, but where could she be?

"Did she say anything else?" Virgil asked.

Morgan knew she couldn't tell Virgil about the hair dye. It would raise to many questions so she simply shook her head.

"It's alright Morgan, we'll find her." Richie assured her.

"We just need to know where to start looking." Virgil added.

His answer walked through the door in the form of Ebon. Students screamed and ran as he walked towards the three superheroes. He looked pointedly at Morgan.

"Are you Morgan Willows?" He demanded.

Morgan nodded and stood, prepared to go on the defensive if the shadow attacked.

"I was attacked last night because of you, by Night Shade. She seemed to know you real well, so if you see her, tell her the Meta-Breed's looking for her." Ebon told her before walking away.

Morgan knew she was dead now. Richie and Virgil were smart and she knew they could put two and two together. She looked at them and found them glaring at her.

"Can I at least explain?" Morgan asked.

"Lux is Night Shade isn't she?" Virgil asked.

"You guys weren't supposed to find out. It was supposed to be a one shot thing." Morgan told them.

"You lied to us Morgan, why?" Richie asked, the hurt in his voice tugged on her heartstrings.

"Because it's who we are okay?! We still have missions and jobs to do for the government. That included capturing Shanice and giving her back to her creators." Morgan began to sob.

"You know, her parents were right, I don't understand why you two were freed." She watched as Virgil walked away. Her eyes flickered to Richie who she hoped would understand.

"I'm sorry..." Was all he said before following after Virgil.

Morgan couldn't believe it. She had just lost two of the greatest friends she'd ever have. And it was all Lux's fault. Clenching her teeth in anger Morgan sprinted out of the school. She was going to find her sister, and when she did, she was going to kill her.

–

**Oh boy! Drama! I'm so excited. **

**Reviews: they make my world go round.**


	11. Atrum Aeterna Pt 2

**Chapter Eleven: Atrum Aeterna pt. 2**

–

Lux sensed her before she saw her. Morgan approached her and Lux could tell she was seething with rage. Without hesitation, Morgan's hand flew out and she sent Lux crashing into a wall. Lux groaned as she looked up at her older sister. Something wasn't right.

"What's wrong with you?!" She demanded.

"You. Because of you Virgil and Richie now hate us. You just had to go after Ebon as Night Shade, you just had to!" Morgan screamed before picking up a car and slamming it down on top of Lux.

"All I ever wanted was a normal life, since the time I was born. I knew it was what I wanted. But no, I'm stuck with this," She looked at her hands before looking at the car she had crushed Lux with, "And I'm stuck with _you!"_

Lux grunted as she lifted the car off of her and stood up. Morgan was losing it, Lux had never seen her so angry before. Morgan was standing on the edge of insanity and Lux feared she was going to jump.

"Morgan, listen to me okay? I'm sorry, I was angry and I wasn't thinking. Richie and Virgil have no right to blame you for my mistake. I can talk to them, we both can talk to them. I just need you to calm down." Lux tried to reason with her sister. It wasn't working though.

The ground began to shake underneath her and Lux knew that this fight was going to have dire consequences. The creaks of the building around them gave that away. Closing her eyes, Lux knew she had no choice. Morgan was losing it, something that had been feared for a while.

And now she was going to kill Lux.

–

Richie stared absentmindedly out the window of the gas station. He wished the day had gone differently. He wished Ebon hadn't walked in. He wished he had attacked Ebon before the metahuman could even speak. Then he'd be with Morgan instead of being angry at her.

"Cheer up man, there will be other girls." Virgil told him.

"No there won't V, none like her at least. Maybe we were too harsh." Richie sighed.

"They lied to us and tried to hurt an innocent person. I don't think we were harsh enough." Virgil snapped.

"They helped her get away in the end. Or did you just forget about that. They're not bad people! They've just had a rough time." Richie shot back.

Virgil realized his friend was right. They shouldn't be angry with the girls, they had their reasons for doing certain things. He had failed to remember that.

"Wanna go apologize after patrol?" He asked Richie and the blond smiled.

Fate, however, had other plans. Behind them the police scanner was going haywire. A frantic voice was speaking.

"_We need backup, lots of backup. No, bring in the entire army. I've never seen so much damage in my entire policing career. Half of downtown has been leveled. There's nothing left. Lord only knows how many are dead." _

Virgil looked at Richie who began to suit up.

"What do you think it is?" Virgil asked.

"I don't know, I just hope we can handle it." Richie answered, as he put his mask on.

Moments later they were headed towards downtown, where two all too familiar metahumans were going head to head.

–

Lux thanked God she had gotten everyone away in time. Morgan would never forgive if they had all died, not that she was forgiving her right now. Lux gasped as she was knocked several yards backwards by her sister. Groaning she stood up and dusted herself off. She couldn't fight back, she risked killing her sister. That couldn't happen.

"LUX!" She heard from above her.

Static landed beside her, his mouth agape as he took in the damage she and Morgan had caused. Gear's face was fixed the same way.

"What happened?" Static asked first.

"Morgan. She's lost it, I've never seen her so angry before," Lux glared at them, "What did you two say to her?"

Static and Gear sputtered as they tried to come up with a reasonable explanation. Lux waved them off just as two buildings began to fall above them.

"MOVE!" Lux yelled as she blasted Static and Gear out of the way. She gasped as the debris fell atop of her. It hurt worse than the car did.

Static yelled in agony as he watched Lux become buried beneath the two buildings. There was no way she could have survived that. Bowing his head, he willed himself not to sob at the loss of his friend.

"Backpack can't read any life signs under there. No one was in that building." Gear reported sadly.

"She's dead...she killed her own sister." Static whispered.

He cringed as he heard Morgan's maniacal laughter. She had gotten what she had wanted all these years.

"Lux Aeterna is dead!" She exclaimed.

"Morgan's dead too..." Gear stated solemnly.

–

**Morbid way to end such a short chapter. Luxy is dead...I knew I'd kill her off eventually. Oh well.**

**Reviews please!**


	12. Atrum Aeterna Pt 3

**Chapter Twelve: Atrum Aeterna Pt. 3**

–

Gear never thought he'd have to fight such a difficult battle. Not only was the metahuman too powerful for him to handle, she was also his girlfriend. His zap caps proved useless and he kept getting slammed into piles of debris. Static wasn't having much luck either. He was floating in mid air, gasping for breath as Morgan choked the life out of him. Lux could help them, she'd be able to stop Morgan. There was only one problem. Lux Aeterna was dead.

There was nothing they could do.

"Static!" Gear exclaimed as he watched his partner drop from the sky.

_No, please don't let him be dead too. I don't think I could handle that, he's my best friend!_ The genius thought frantically as he rushed to Static's side. Placing a hand on his friends neck, he felt a faint pulse and gave a sigh of relief. Virgil was alive...for now. From above Morgan watched them.

"I didn't have the heart to kill him." She stated in a monotonous voice.

"But you had the heart to kill your own sister?! Where did you get that logic?" Gear demanded, standing up and glaring at her.

"Lux was always meant to die. I saw it in her future. You can't change destiny, Gear." Her voice became wispy as she floated down to him.

"We shouldn't have been so harsh to you Morgan. You did what you had to do, and even then, you made everything right. We're sorry." He pleaded.

Morgan planted a light kiss on his cheek before whispering, "It's too late for that."

Gear gasped as the ground around him began to shake and stir. Looking down, he realized what Morgan was doing. She was going to bury them where they stood.

"Morgan stop!" Gear yelled but she ignored him.

_Oh god, it's going to end right here. Virgil, Lux...I'm sorry. _He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable. Seconds past...then a few minutes...but nothing was happening. Gear opened his eyes and they widened when they saw a man shielding them from Morgan's attack.

"What the..." He whispered.

The man looked at them and frowned, "Where's Lux?" he asked.

Gear shook his head and the man nodded solemnly. Above them Morgan was growing even more livid as each second passed.

"You need to wake up your friend." The man motioned to Static.

"I don't think I can, she got him pretty good." Gear responded.

"God, I've never seen her so angry." The man whispered.

"Who are you anyway?" The genius inquired.

"James Willows, I'm their father."

The sound of creaking metal cut off whatever reaction Gear was about to have.

"She's toppling another building we need to move!" James ordered.

Gear nodded as he grabbed Static and they moved away just as the building on where they had been standing. Static groaned as his eyes opened and he looked up at Gear and James.

"Who's he?" He grunted.

"Morgan's dad, he came in the nick of time too." Gear answered.

"Unfortunately, I've got no way to stop her. We'd always know something like this would happen but the only person able to stop her is...was Lux."

"And Lux is...dead." Static nearly choked on the word. He still couldn't believe it.

"We've got to give it our all anyway. Lux would want that, so let's do this?" Jame looked at the boys, waiting for them to respond.

When they nodded, he pointed to a pile of debris that led to sunlight. With little hesitation, the boys followed after him, ready to face Morgan. Once outside they saw the mentalist sitting on top of an overturned vehicle, watching them.

"Daddy, when did you get here? Did you see what I did to Lux?" She asked in the wispy voice she used earlier as she pointed to the debris Lux was buried under.

"Morgan darling, please let us help you. You're hurting, I can tell. And when the realization hits you, that you killed your sister, you'll be even more distraught." James pleaded to her.

"I feel fine Daddy. And good riddance to Lux, she was a burden anyway." Her voice became harsher and more clipped. James knew she was losing her temper.

"You loved Lux though. You told me this every time you became worried for her. You can't deny that Morgan." Gear added.

"I never cared for her. I only protected her because you wanted me to Daddy. So shut up." She was standing now.

"Morgan-"

"I said _SHUT UP!"_ Her hand flew forward and James stepped in front to shield the boys when something unbelievable happened.

Morgan was knocked backwards by a pulse of air. The three watched as she landed a good fifty yards away. She remained motionless. Static was the first to react and whip his head towards the direction the pulse came from. His eyes fell on a figure clad in all black who was staring at them.

"Seems like your baby girl has been on a psychotic break for weeks now. What pushed her over the edge?" The figure asked.

James was about to answer when the figure flickered out of sight and appeared right in front of him. He took a startled step backwards. They all quickly took in that he was male, with black hair, and purple eyes. _More like...bluish purple._ James thought.

"Where's the other one?" The mystery guy asked.

"Dead." James stated, showing no emotion.

"Oh really now? I beg to differ," The mystery guy turned to where Lux's body was, "Lux Aeterna, get up. Your family needs you."

Gear and Static gasped as the debris began to move and out from under it, climbed Lux. What shocked them even more was that there was not a scratch on her.

"Dammit Atrum! Your shields suck ass." She hissed as she leaped down to where the boys stood. "I'm gonna need some heavy duty painkillers after this."

"You're alive!" Gear exclaimed.

"I would say well too but I've got a massive headache." Lux smiled at him.

James was filled with relief at the sight of his daughter. He hadn't believed she was actually dead but as the situation grew more and more grim, he had found himself losing hope.

"Where is she?" Lux asked, looking at her father.

"There. Lux, don't kill her." James told her as he pointed to Morgan who was beginning to stand up.

"Wouldn't dream of it Dad. Let's go Atrum." Lux began walking towards Morgan.

"Atrum? You _know _this guy?!" Static questioned.

Lux looked at him and nodded her head once, "Only vaguely, but yes I know him."

–

_She had always known that Lux carried dangerous secrets. She had never had any interest to know what they are. At least, until now. However, she was totally unprepared for this. As she stepped through a silver archway, Morgan regretted opening the final door to Lux's mind._

_There she saw bodies, thousands of them, being burned alive over and over again. And at the center of it all stood Lux. The mentalist was speechless as she took in the sight of her sister. The pyro was covered in silver body armor with blades protruding from her arms. Her white hair was in a long, braided ponytail. She looked both magnificent and intimidating as Morgan approached her._

"_Lux?" She asked quietly._

_Lux turned and looked at her before chuckling._

"_So you've opened the final door? Even I haven't been able to do this." Lux commented._

"_What do you mean? This is _your _mind." Morgan explained._

"_What you're seeing now sister, is my future." The pyro clarified._

"_Your...future? Where am I?" The mentalist was afraid to hear the answer. _

"_Dead. I killed you. And thousands more." The response was blunt and cold._

_Morgan took several steps back as fire began to surround her. Lux...no this wasn't Lux. Lux would never kill her. _She has been distant lately, _the doubts crept in. If this was Lux's future, Morgan realized, then she couldn't be allowed to live in order to see it. _

"_NO!" _

–

"I slept, do you know why?" Lux asked Atrum as they walked towards Morgan.

"You didn't sleep, you blacked out. I'm to blame for that and everything else, I wasn't able to watch you last night." Atrum answered.

"Watch me? What do you mean _watch _me? Who sent you?" Lux stopped and grabbed him by the throat. Atrum didn't even try to fight/

"Crane...did." He panted as he tried not to use too much air.

"Crane?!" Her grip tightened.

"Yes...shouldn't we be worried about you sister?"

Lux let him drop and she kept moving towards Morgan. Atrum kept his distance as the closed in on the mentalist. Morgan glared at them as they approached.

"We need to make this quick." Lux said to Atrum as Morgan put her hand forward to send them flying.

"Agreed." Atrum shielded himself and Lux from the potentially fatal blast and returned with one of his own.

Lux quickly followed suit by trapping Morgan in an impenetrable ring of white fire as soon as the blonde hit the ground.

"Morgan!" Lux called to her sister, "Please be reasonable about this, you need to calm down."

Morgan launched a psychic blast but it was shielded and returned by Atrum, effectively knocking her down. She hit the ground with a thud and Lux was instantly at her side.

"Morgan look at me. Look at me dammit." Lux commanded as she tried to keep Morgan from passing out.

"Lux...I have to kill you. I'm...so...sorry." Morgan whispered.

"No you don't have to kill me and I don't have to kill you. I just need you to stay awake until Daddy gets over here okay?" Tears flooded the pyro's eyes. What had caused all of this?

"Daddy?" Morgan wondered.

"Yes, Daddy and Richie too. He and Virgil came to save you." Lux explained.

"They hate me Lux. They hate _us._" Morgan's eyes closed and Lux panicked. Without thinking she slapped Morgan across the face and the blonde shot up and glared at her.

"Bitch, if you pass out I will kill you." Lux threatened but smiled nonetheless.

"I'll make a note not to." Morgan smiled back.

The sound of police sirens and emergency crews alerted them and Lux's eyes widened. Morgan stopped breathing out of terror.

"They'll know who we are." Lux whispered.

"No they won't. Thanks to Backpack, all surveillance has been destroyed and luckily no news stations had the guts to come out here." Gear told them as he walked over to them.

"What about witnesses? People had to have seen what just went down." Morgan pointed out.

"I'll take care of that. According to eye witnesses, a terrorist attack occurred in Dakota today." Atrum smirked.

"Now can we please get out of here?"

–

**Yay! All is well and I'll explain why Morgan went psycho. It has to do with the flashback I put in. Now I need honest opinions, how do you like Atrum? I plan to keep him in for awhile but not if you guys don't like him. Mt readers' opinions are very important to me.**

**So...REVIEW HOMESKILLETS!**


	13. Shades of Grey

**Chapter Thirteen: Shades of Grey**

**--**

Air filled her lungs as Lux took a deep breath. The distance was staggering but she was able to make the jump. She had to make the jump. She wanted answers and Atrum held them. If she didn't catch him, those answers would disappear forever.

"You want me to tell you what happened? Alright, but first, you have to chase me." Then he had taken off running, leaping from building to building.

She was gaining distance; he was going to be hers. Morgan was lying in her bed, with an IV in her arm. She had gotten sick after what had happened just a week before. Lux was afraid for her, if she couldn't find out what was wrong, she was afraid she'd lose her sister forever. Having had enough, Lux lunged for Atrum and tackled him as they landed on the roof of an apartment complex.

"Tell me now!" She roared.

"You. You are the reason she reacted the way she did. She tapped into your subconscious, saw your future, and freaked." He responded calmly, despite the fact that she was pinning him to the ground.

"My future? What's so bad about my future that Morgan would want to kill me? And how could she have tapped into my subconscious? She can't read my mind!" Lux hissed.

"The night I made you black out, my mental powers are greater than Morgan's. When I went in though, I left a 'door' open. Without her consent, because she was asleep, she entered through that door." He explained, "And if I told you your future, you'd try to prevent it from occurring, and then it will happen."

Lux let him sit up and he held her chin with his hand and looked straight into her eyes.

"I have to report to Crane, Lux. I have to tell her about your recent activities and about what happened to Morgan." His voice was filled with remorse.

"Then I have to kill you so you won't have that chance." Lux bit back.

Atrum grinned, "Let's have at it then Lux Aeterna."

In the blink of an eye Lux and Atrum separated and stood in attack stances, there was great distance between them. However, before either of them could attack, Atrum began to laugh.

"What the hell is so funny?" Lux asked.

"I can't fight you, I don't have the guts." Atrum answered through his snickers.

"So you'll keep your mouth shut about us?" Lux demanded to know.

"We'll see." Then he was gone, vanished right in front of her.

Still, Lux wanted to know more. She had told Richie she knew Atrum vaguely. She had remembered seeing him back at the military base. He was always gazing at her, like he was in love. She had always been curious about him too.

--

Morgan smiled when she saw Lux, the color was beginning to come back to her pale face. Lux didn't say a thing to her as she leaned in the doorway and stared at her sister.

"Dad wants us to quit being superheroes." Morgan finally spoke.

"You can, but I'm not." Lux responded without hesitation.

"I don't want to quit either. He thinks it's putting a strain on us, especially me." The blonde laughed.

"Dad can bite me. I don't feel anymore strain now than when I did when we were back in Eros." Lux snapped.

Morgan raised an eyebrow at her.

"What?" Lux inquired.

"You haven't called it by its name since we got out." Morgan remarked, "Usually you avoid talking about it altogether."

Lux knew she was right. She hated talking about their military home. The only time she called it by its name was when she was extremely agitated and wasn't paying attention to what she was saying.

"I still won't quit. Nitrix has grown on me." Lux smirked, changing the subject completely.

"Then Dad can just deal with it." Morgan smiled, "I can't wait until you guys let me off bed rest. I miss school, I miss being Matrix, and I miss Richie."

Lux didn't say anything as she turned and walked out of the room. As she headed to her room, she passed James. Trying her luck, she smiled wickedly at him.

"We're not quitting."

He stopped and stared at her, his eyes boring into her. She looked straight through him. She could sense his uneasiness. She had been sensing it for awhile. James was beginning to become afraid of her. She couldn't blame him either. She had been more on edge lately. She felt like a predator, waiting in the shadows, waiting to attack her prey.

"Did you hear me, _Daddy_?" The title was clipped.

"I heard you, and it's your life. I won't control it, Lux. However, when it comes to your sister's health, I will step in if I have to." He responded before entering Morgan's room.

Lux snarled at him before walking into her room and shutting the door. The sound of the lock clicking reverberated through the house.

--

Night fell as Atrum watched the Willows' house. Crane had been correct after all, his coming had…awakened the true Lux Aeterna. He had seen it when she threatened to kill him today. She was becoming more and more bloodthirsty and from that thirst would stem her coming future as the perfect soldier. She had no control over it. She would change, whether she had wanted to or not.

The question was though, did _he _want that? Although this was the first time he'd seen her in years, he still felt that connection with her. There was a piece of her inside of him, and because of that, he love her. If she became the perfect soldier, a natural born killer, a monster; what would he do? He'd lose her forever.

There had to be some way to stop that from happening.

Some way.

--

**A short filler chapter. And there's your explanation for Morgan's freak out which initiated the plot of this story. Hope you enjoyed it.**

**Reviews are love, gimme gimme!**


	14. The Coming Darkness

**Chapter Fourteen: The Coming Darkness**

**--**

The night sky was daunting as Static was knocked into a wall. Matrix was at his side, instantly making sure he was okay. Nitrix continued to battle it out with the three thieves. The one made of bricks managed to overpower her and throw her several yards away. Matrix gasped as her sister hit the ground with a sickening thud.

"Nightingale!" The redheaded man yelled.

The small girl nodded and began to create dark matter with her hands. Soon it shrouded everything and the thieves got away. When they could see again, Static and Matrix rushed to Nitrix's side.

"I'm fine." The pyro ground out as she stood up.

"Are you sure? Lux you took a hard hit." Matrix tried to keep her sister from moving.

"_I'm fine._" Nitrix snarled causing both of her comrades to back away.

They watched in silence as she walked past them and took off into the sky. Static looked at Matrix who shook her head, indicating that she did not know what was wrong.

Atrum was sitting on her bed when Lux climbed through her window. He gazed at her as her white hair fell across her face. He seemed to want to tell her something.

"Spit it out or get out." She snapped as she brushed her hair out of the way of her fac.

"You notice you're changing right?" He asked.

Lux shrugged, "I'm more irritated than usual, what does that matter?"

"How long has it been since you've killed?" Atrum smirked at her.

"Years. We both know that." Lux whispered.

Atrum stood up from the bed and approached her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to him. His lips brushed her ear as he spoke.

"I can sense the urge Lux Aeterna. You want to kill. You want to kill so badly, you don't care who the victim is. It may end up being Morgan." Lux stiffened but he continued, "You're becoming a true assassin Lux. You may not have killed in years, but once you start again, you won't be able to stop. I can save you from that though."

"How?" Lux asked.

"I can tell you your future, and you can prevent it. You just have to do me a favor." Atrum grinned.

"What's that favor?" Lux asked.

"I've loved you for so long Lux. You'll never reciprocate it though so do me this one favor, kiss me." He was dead serious.

The room seemed to grow heavy as Lux stared at Atrum. He wanted her to kiss him? It was such a small price to pay in exchange for her future. She figured she had no choice but to take the deal.

"Alright, close your eyes." Then her lips met his.

The kiss only lasted a few seconds before Lux pulled away and stared at Atrum, "Tell me my future."

Atrum grimaced before looking away and saying, "You return to Eros."

Then he was gone, vanished. Lux just stood with wide eyes as the words sunk in. She couldn't go back to _that place. _Then she realized that was Atrum's goal. If she knew the future she could prevent it and life would go on. Feeling a bit comforted, Lux sat on her window sill and stared into the moonlit sky. The thieves were going to strike again, and this time she'd be ready for them.

--

"Since when does Dakota have a nuclear plant?" Matrix asked as the four soared through the sky.

"Years, although I've never seen it before until today," Static answered.

As the heroes closed in on the reactors, they spotted the thieves carrying crates of uranium. Static nodded to Gear who threw zap caps at them. The larger thief became trapped and struggled to break free. Nitrix landed behind her and blasted her backwards and she hit the ground.

"Brickhouse!" The redheaded thief yelled.

He ran and tried to attack her but was knocked backward by Matrix.

"Gear, Static, grab those crates." Nitrix ordered as she and Matrix tried to hold off the thieves.

As Gear and Static raced to grab the crates, they disappeared into a pool of black.

"Ebon, of course you would be behind this." Static grimaced.

"You got that right hero; I see you've met my new recruits." Ebon leered as he rose from the ground.

Static tried to attack him but he quickly dodged and created a pool under Static and Gear's feet. Static grabbed Gear's wrist as the two fell into the pool and hung over a nuclear reactor.

"I'm going to give you the chance to see a nuclear reactor from the inside." Ebon sneered.

As he closed the portal and Static lost his grip, a cloud of darkness covered everything and the two heroes found themselves safe on the pavement, Matrix was at their side.

"Nightingale, what's wrong with you?!" Ebon yelled.

"You said no one would get hurt!" The small girl yelled back.

"You're going to regret this." Ebon hissed as he grabbed her and pulled her into a portal, the other two followed her.

When they were gone, Matrix looked at Gear and Static.

"Are you two okay?" She asked.

"We're fine, don't worry. I'm not so sure about Nightingale though." Static answered.

"Don't worry, I can track her." Nitrix stated as she walked over to them, not even asking if they were okay.

"Go then, and call us when you get close. We need to find out what they're building." Static ordered.

Nitrix nodded and took off running.

"She seems different lately." Gear remarked.

"Ever since…you know…she's been so on edge." Matrix nodded.

"Are you worried?" Static asked.

Matrix shook her head. She had come to learn that Lux could handle herself. She wasn't a little girl anymore. She also remembered what she had seen, and knew better than to pry. She could put herself in danger. It was okay to be a little selfish sometimes. Especially when your life is at stake, helping her sister wasn't worth it.

Time passed and there was still no call from Lux. Both Static and Gear felt uneasy about this, if something happened to Lux, it'd be their and Matrix's fault. They let her go alone.

"Nitrix to whomever wants to answer, I've found them at the Dakota football stadium. Move your butts and get over here." Relief filled her friends as Matrix answered, telling her they'd be there in a few minutes.

When they got to the stadium, they saw Nightingale shielding herself from bright lights. She seemed to be in pain. Matrix acted first, using a telekinetic push to turn the lights away from the helpless girl. When this happened, Nitrix leaped down from seemingly nowhere and picked the girl up. As Nightingale's comrades tried to stop her, Nitrix sent up a wall of fire and escaped.

Moments later she stood by Gear and Static. Nightingale held on to Static as they flew away from the stadium to safety. The heroes and Nightingale found refuge outside a supermarket where Nightingale sat on a bench. Static gave her a soda and they all surrounded her, to both protect her and stop her from escaping.

"So Nightingale, what's your story?" Static asked.

"Just call me Gail, it's my real name. And my story began a year ago, on the night of the Big Bang." Gail replied.

She told them her story of how, after the Big Bang light became poison to her. She was forced to run away and live in the sewers, in safety. She and her friends tried to find help from the outside world but found none. Then Ebon showed up and began his plan to shroud the city in darkness so he could rule. Matrix seemed touched by the story; Nitrix thought it was pretty pathetic.

"So being shunned justifies you shrouding Dakota in darkness? I don't think so." She snapped.

Gail looked away in shame as the other three heroes glared at her. Matrix dragged her sister off to the side.

"Could you be any bitchier?" The mentalist hissed.

"What does my name mean Morgan? You really think I sympathize with the 'night breed?'" Nitrix scoffed.

"It doesn't matter that your name means eternal light if your heart is filled with darkness, _Lux Aeterna." _The words were so clipped and cruel that even Lux was surprised.

"You're right, my heart is filled with darkness, so much darkness that I don't give a damn about what happens to little Ms. Gail and the city of Dakota. I'm out of here." Matrix watched as Nitrix turned and walked away.

Something wasn't right, and Matrix needed to know what.

--

The next morning, Lux heard Morgan enter the house. Since the sun was rising, she assumed the other three had been successful in stopping Ebon. Not that she cared, she had her own problems to deal with. She needed advice, from someone who she knew would understand. And that person was not Atrum Aeterna.

An hour later Lux found herself wandering around Gotham City. Batman had taken leave from the Justice League to watch over his city. She hoped she could find him. As she stood atop a building, her eyes scanned the entire city. No sign of Batman, probably because it was morning. So she had to find Bruce Wayne. As she leaped off the building she remembered the exact location of Wayne Enterprises. Bruce had mentioned it to her during her short stint with the Justice League.

As she walked down the sidewalk, she thought about what Morgan had said. Was she that cold? She always thought being a hero made up for her past but it turned out to just be a ruse. She knew she couldn't fight the monster inside. It was going to consume her whether she liked it or not.

"That's only if you let it Lux. I've seen you in action, you're a good person. You don't realize it though." Bruce chided her as she sat in the Batcave.

Finding him had been a lot easier than she anticipated. In fact, he was the first person she ran into when she walked into the Wayne Enterprises building.

"I feel like a fake though and Atrum is right, I have such a strong urge to kill. It's eating at me." Lux sighed, "I can't though because then I can never go back."

"Sometimes, it's best to go by your instinct." His words shocked Lux.

"Are you tell me to kill?!" She demanded and stood up, staring at him in shock.

"I'm not your father Lux, I don't have your best interests at heart and I'm not going to shield you from anything. The only way to learn from mistakes is to make them. If you kill, you kill, but control the urge, don't let it control you." Bruce finished.

"You may not be my father, but you play the part better than my own." Lux smirked, "I'll control the urge, and I don't have to kill, only when it's necessary. But I thought the Justice League was anti-kill?"

"You were built to kill, it's in your blood whether you like it or not. I've examined your DNA myself. Your first instinct is to take out your enemy, I can't tell you to fight that instinct because you'll lose. I can teach you to control it though if you feel you can't do it yourself."

"Teach me then."

"It won't be easy, it'll be like going through drug withdrawals and if it fails, I'll die. You'll kill me. I'm willing to risk it though."

"When do we start?"

Lux returned home late in the night, covered in scratches and bruises. Most were self inflicted; she had to restrain herself from killing Bruce several times. She wondered why this had to happen to her.

It was because she was a monster, a killing machine. It didn't matter if it had been years since she had last slain someone; the urge to kill was still there. Bruce would help her control but she was afraid it wouldn't work, and then he'd die. No one would truly be able to help her except maybe one person.

She needed to see Crane.

--

**In case you were confused with what Bruce was saying, here's a translation:**

**Lux was made to kill, she can't fight it. It's her instinct. Bruce is going to help her control that instinct so that she kills only when it's necessary and not become a bloodthirsty killer. Got it?**

**Reviews make me smile!**


	15. Saving Me

**Chapter Fifteen: Saving Me**

**--**

"You have enough power to save my son?" Edwin Alva looked at Nitrix in disbelief.

"Yes, now set the others free and get out of my way." The pyro ordered.

Edwin agreed and Talon, Gear, Matrix, and RubberbandMan were set free. As Nitrix went to take her place, Static stopped her.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" He asked, genuinely worried.

"Let go of me," Was her cool reply as she pulled away and lay down in the machine.

The power started and all the metahumans watched as Nitrix delivered power into the machine with ease. The room glowed brightly as the white fire surrounded Alva Jr. and changed him from stone to man. When the chamber opened and he stepped out, Edwin Alva pulled him into a hug. He then turned to the metahumans.

"I apologize for kidnapping all of you. I just wanted my son back." He bowed his head.

"It's chill Mr. Alva, just don't let it happen again." Static smirked.

Edwin then turned to thank Nitrix but to everyone's but a few surprise, she was gone.

--

It had been a month since she had begun her training with Bruce and Lux could see the change. Not only was she becoming a better fighter, she didn't feel the urge to rip his neck open. She wondered how long that would last. As she climbed out her window, she wondered what the night would bring her this time. She'd been having a haunting feeling for quite some time. She wondered what it meant.

Morgan watched her sister go, feeling the strong desire to follow her but knew she wouldn't. Lux's secrets were her secrets, Morgan would not interfere.

"But you want to so badly, don't you?" Morgan turned to see Atrum staring at her.

"You're that guy who helped me, Atrum right?" She asked.

"The one and only, and you're Morgan. The holder of every military secret known to man, and the sister of our nation's greatest weapon." Atrum smirked.

"I feel so special." Her mood instantly darkened, she did not like this guy.

"You'll feel even more special after I tell you this. Lux is going to return to Eros and only you can stop her." Atrum stated.

"What? She hates that place, why would she go back?" Morgan hissed.

"I didn't see her in that vision, you did. That's why only you can stop her. Good luck." Then he was gone.

Morgan remembered the vision of all the bodies, all the blood. She had to everything in her power to stop it from coming true. Lux couldn't return to Eros. Morgan wouldn't let her.

--

As Lux walked down the sidewalk she kept an eye out for anything suspicious. She headed into a dangerous part of town, but even it seemed quiet. She wondered if Crane really was in a place like this. Her instincts had never led her astray before so she trusted them. She didn't have to search long before she came across a black SUV. It stuck out, shockingly, like a sore thumb.

"Crane!" She called out towards the building the car was parked beside.

There was silence for a moment before the door opened and the doctor stepped outside.

"It was only a matter of time eh?" Crane asked in a daunting tone.

"I'm not hear for pleasantries, actually I'm here to make a deal with you." Lux responded coolly.

Crane raised an eyebrow of interest. What kind of deal could the pyro want to make with her? Surely it wasn't one that would grant her freedom. She was far too valuable for that.

"I'll go back to Eros with you." Lux began, "On three conditions though. Can you handle that?"

Crane nearly burst into laughter but managed to nod her head.

"Condition number one: you let Morgan free. She's the one who's fit for a normal life, not me. Besides, I already know I'll develop her same abilities in the next few years. There's no need to keep her around," Crane nodded as Lux continued, "Condition number two: Virgil and Richie are to be left alone. I know you have interest in them; I can see it in your eyes Crane. And my final condition: you _advance _me."

"Do you even know what you're asking for? You're not ready to be advanced." Crane sneered.

"If I can control my instinct to kill, I'm damn sure I'm ready to advance." Lux bit back.

"It hurts like hell; I won't even lie to you." Her words weren't filled with sympathy but that didn't mean she wasn't worried about the pyro. She had put more work into Lux than she had with Morgan. In truth, Lux was more her daughter than anything.

"I can take it. I've seen worse and I'm sure I've felt worse." Lux challenged.

"Fine but the process can't be done here, I'd have to take you back to Eros." Crane added.

"I've already got something arranged so there's no need to make that trip. Just meet me tomorrow in Gotham City Square." Lux said before she turned to walk away.

"Wait Aeterna, tell me something, why now? What do you have planned?" There was no way Lux would make such a deal with her unless there was something to be gained.

"Simple, when I'm advanced, when I'm stronger I'm going to kill him." Lux admitted.

"Kill who?" Crane feared the answer.

"Atrum Aeterna." Then she was gone.

--

She had seen right through him. He didn't love her, he only loved himself. He wanted to be the only Aeterna. She wasn't going to have that. Crane knew that well, especially when Lux brought up the manifestation of her psychic abilities. She had seen into Atrum's mind. He was flawed, not as powerful as she. So he figured if he could weaken her, he could kill her too.

"That's never going to happen." She hissed angrily.

"Lux, we're ready for you." Bruce told her as he put on a lab coat.

Lux nodded and walked into the medical room. She wouldn't walk out as the person she had once been. She had no plans to. Nor did she have any regrets.

--

**It's a short chapter but the last five are going to be pretty long. So there you go. And sorry I'm updating so slowly, school is taking up a great deal of my time. Later.**

**Psycho**


	16. Wicked Lovely

**Chapter Sixteen: Wicked Lovely **

**--**

When Lux first opened her eyes she noticed that she could see _everything. _All the colors and molecules of objects came rushing to her in a blur. It was extremely surreal and extremely painful. Closing her eyes she let out a groan.

"So you're awake, that's good." She heard Bruce say.

"How long have I been comatose?" Her voice came out hoarse from not being used in a while.

"You really want to know? It's been an entire week." Bruce answered.

"I bet Morgan killed herself from worry." Lux smirked.

She tried to sit up but her body felt heavier than usual. This time she heard Crane's voice.

"It seems you'll have to get used to your body's new defense. The armor will retract in a moment." She told Lux.

At that Lux shot up and leapt off the bed. She cast a glance down and took in her appearance before the ground beneath her began to disintegrate. Crane had a wry smile on her face as Lux reveled in her newfound power.

"I feel like I can dominate the world." The pyro commented.

"You probably could, don't try anytime soon though." Bruce guided her away from the bed.

Her body was covered in a metal that she knew was stronger than titanium. Heat pulsed through her and just by standing in one place she could burn a hole in the ground. Her mind was expanded as well. She could hear Crane's thoughts. The doctor thought she was beautiful, in a platonic motherly way. Bruce was ready to train her. As she took a step forward her eyes widened, causing both adults to let out light chuckles.

"I have a fucking tail." It wasn't a question as Lux whirled and metal tail sliced the bed she had laid on, clean in half.

"You'll have to learn to control your newfound abilities. Mr. Wayne will begin your training so check in with your family. You'll be here for awhile." Crane remarked.

"I'd rather have them not know. At least not right now. This is my secret and I'm going to enjoy it for awhile." Lux smiled slyly.

"Suit yourself, I'll be back in a few weeks to check on you and deem you ready to be unleashed onto society. Good luck Aeterna." Crane began walking towards the exit.

"If you like me so much, why create the second Aeterna?" The doctor stopped in her tracks.

"I did it for you Lux; I wanted to give you someone to identify with. It seems my plan backfired though, I'll see you soon." The door closed behind her.

Lux looked at Bruce and smiled sheepishly, "You wanna go grab some body armor or something because I don't think I _can _go easy on you."

"I'll manage." Then she lunged at him.

--

Richie sighed as he watched Morgan dress. It wasn't a new sight to him. They had slept together a lot of times since they began dating. It didn't matter right now though. Morgan was too out of it. She had barely spoken to anyone the last few weeks. He knew she was wracked with worry over Lux but he missed her. This was one of the few times they were together, when he was too tired from patrol to go home so he stayed with her. Even so, she still barely said a word to him. It was making him _sick._

"I don't get it." He mused, "You say you won't worry anymore but you do so anyway. She can take care of herself."

She looked at him in disbelief before responding, "She's my sister. I can't help it and you know that."

"How do you even know she's your sister? You two don't even look the same. Have you looked at your skin lately?" He wasn't trying to sound racist, he was just being irrational.

"It doesn't matter if we don't look the same. You and Virgil don't look the same and you'd be just as worried as I am."

"Virgil's not the walking apocalypse. Maybe it's better now that she's gone." The words escaped his mouth before he could stop himself.

"Get. Out." Richie gasped as he flew out of the bedroom and into a wall. Groaning he watched as the door closed and the lock clicked.

"It's official, I'm an asshole." He muttered to himself.

Truth was, he was worried over Lux. She was like his sister too but lately she had been so cruel to them that he just didn't care anymore. Then she disappeared altogether without a word to anyone. Morgan was dying, he could see that. She needed her sister and the pyro was nowhere to be found. That made him hate Lux even more. When she did finally come home, he didn't even want to think about it.

When the bedroom door opened, Richie stood up and let Morgan hug him tightly.

"I'm sorry Morgan, I'm just so pissed that she's hurting you like this." He whispered.

"I know, and I didn't mean to hurt you. Forgive me?" She looked up at him.

He nodded as her lips met his. The sound of the doorbell forced them to pull apart. Virgil had arrived and together they were going to scour the city for Lux. As they left the house to head to the gas station a figure watched from overhead.

"_You see them?" _Bruce's voice was loud in her ear. It didn't bother her though.

"They're going to look for me today. It was Morgan's idea." Lux told him through the microphone clipped on her new suit.

It was like her old catsuit but this one was long-sleeved with a collar. A hole was cut in the back where her tail swayed from side to side. It was flexible fabric she could move in when she used her armor and it was also heat resistant, which was majorly important. A simple touch could incinerate anything and everything.

"_Go Lux, it's time you really put your new powers to the test." _Bruce encouraged, "_Remember self-control though."_

When he clicked out, Lux sighed and leapt from the building and faded from sight.

--

When Morgan stepped into the gas station she expected to spend all day and night looking for her sister. Seeing Lux leaning against a wall, smirking at her, made the mentalist do a double take.

"Hi there, did you miss me?" Lux grinned.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Morgan screeched, alerting the boys.

Lux felt a light push and figured Morgan was trying to send her flying into a wall out of anger. It made her frown and she stood up straight and gazed at her sister with uncaring eyes. When Virgil and Richie joined Morgan they glared at Lux and she raised an eyebrow.

"Looks like I've stumbled across some angry superheroes." The pyro remarked.

"You've been gone for a month! So I repeat my question, what is wrong with you?" Morgan hissed.

"I've been running some errands but I've got some new things to show you." The sly grin returned as Lux cocked her head to the side.

This time Morgan approached her, ready to attack her. Her sister really could not be trusted anymore. However, Lux was not in the mood and without even moving put up a tall wall of fire. It surrounded her and Morgan took several steps backward.

_Like my new trick? It requires no effort at all._

"When did you learn telepathy?" Morgan demanded.

_A day ago…_

Morgan could hear Lux laugh from within the inferno.

"What happened to you?" She breathed. The wall dissipated revealing Lux who simply stared at her sister.

"I've _changed, _you didn't notice earlier?" Lux asked in a condescending tone. She was itching to fight, she wanted to find Atrum.

"I guess I did but I didn't want to...acknowledge it." Morgan lamented. She looked away as Lux walked past her and the boys, exiting the gas station and vanishing from sight. A few moments of silence passed before Morgan let out an agonized scream and fell to her knees. This was what she was trying to prevent, but she felt so powerless.

"Morgan..." Richie was at her side, comforting her while Virgil stood in a few feet away, silent as can be.

"What do I do now? She's...she's...I don't even know anymore. Dammit!" Richie was knocked back by an unseen force as Morgan began to sob. Oh how he hated Lux, he hated her so much.

--

"Hell yea," Lux smirked as she walked into the Batcave. The sleek, black, bike practically cried out to her. She grinned wickedly as she ran a hand along it.

"You like it then?"Bruce asked as he walked down the staircase into his secret base. Lux nodded and climbed onto the motorcycle. It was like it was made for her. It probably was, knowing Bruce.

"Does this mean I'm the new Robin?" Bruce smirked as he walked over to the computers. She watched him, waiting for a reply.

"No way in hell, but you can have the bike. I assume you'd probably steal it anyways." Lux laughed and her cackles echoed through the cave, stirring its creatures.

When it was quiet again, Lux sighed and climbed off the bike. She'd take it out for a spin later, when it was dark. She wanted to tell Bruce about her encounter with Morgan.

"She hates me now, I think. I guess I achieved one of my goals. Now leaving won't be as hard." Lux told him as she stood by his side, watching thousands of files fly across the massive computer screen.

"I don't think she could ever really hate you, no matter how mad you make her. Just remember, you have her best interests at heart. That should help you sleep at night." Lux snorted.

"I don't even sleep to begin with."

After a rather harsh sparring session which left Lux scratched up and Bruce limping, the pyro gave a farewell nod before walking over to her new toy. Bruce offered her a helmet and that wicked grin reappeared as she revved up the machine and zoomed out of the Batcave. As she road through the streets of Gotham, she thought about seeking out Atrum and properly challenging him to a death match. She skidded to a stop as she expanded her mind to find her counterpart. He was with Crane, no surprise there.

"Lux, what a surprise and it looks like you've obtained a new plaything." Atrum smiled as he walked out of Crane's place. Lux didn't utter a word which, shockingly, unnerved him. He wasn't supposed to be afraid of her.

"Why so serious?" It came out as a venomous whisper that would have made someone's skin shrivel and fall off. There was poison in the air but neither Aeterna was affected by it.

"You're a scumbag, did you know that?" She finally asked and Atrum couldn't help but to smile.

"So you can finally read my mind. Damn, I had hoped to kill you before then. I guess I'll just have to figure something else out." The bike revved making Atrum flinch. She meant business, eh? So did he.

"In that case, let's end it. You obviously want me dead and I feel the same about you. Just one question, why?" She hadn't gotten that far into his mind before he had shut her out.

"Why? _Why? _You're the bane of my existence, Lux. I was created for you, to serve you. I _hate _living like that. I hate _you._" He sounded like a whiny baby in her opinion. She didn't tell him that, though. She wasn't going to.

"Then break away, I did. Or you can just get your ass handed to you. Pick one." Atrum roared at her, and she had her answer, "Midnight, the day after tomorrow. Be ready."

Then she was gone, the tail lights were the only indication that she had been there at all. Atrum growled as he clenched his fists. If it was a death match she wanted, then she'd get one. He couldn't wait to hear her begging him for mercy. It would be so sweet.

"You don't know what you're getting into." Atrum whirled around to see Crane. She had watched the whole exchange.

"What the hell do you know?" Atrum growled. He didn't want anyone doubting him. He knew he could beat Lux Aeterna. He had to. Nothing could shake that resolve.

"I'm just warning you, although it doesn't matter. You'll be dead soon. I guess it was a waste, creating you." She turned to leave but Atrum appeared in front of her. With a roar he reached forward, grabbed her neck, crushing it, and killing her.

"I guess you were a waste too, eh?" Then he disappeared into the shadows. He had to prepare.

--

**Aw, Crane died. Oh well, I was never a huge fan of her anyway. Well I'm sorry it's taken so long. I did say that school would keep me extremely busy. But now I'm back (for now). I'll update again in the next day or so. Lates**

**Psycho**


	17. Never Broken

**Chapter Seventeen: Never Broken**

**--**

"The sun is setting." Bruce pointed out to Lux who was hidden in the shadows of the cave. He never understood her fascination with the bats that lived there but lately she spent her time scaling the ceiling and getting close to the creatures.

"I don't have much longer then." Her voice echoed though its origins still remained unknown. Bruce simply shook his head.

"Do you plan on staying up there all night? I have guests coming, you know? Green Lantern wants to pay a visit and he had to bring the rest of the League with him." At that, Lux dropped down and landed with a quite audible thud.

"In that case, I'm going to skedaddle. I'll catch you later, Bruce." She waved as she grabbed her bike and disappeared from the Batcave. She didn't want Bruce to get in trouble because of his recent "activities" that included advancing her and teaching her how to kill.

As she race down the highway back to Dakota, she picked up a distress signal coming from the docks. Apparently there had been another explosion of Big Bang gas. Activating the turbo boost, she zoomed to the destination. When she arrived, her eyes widened as she saw dozens of kids diving into the water. They were all being affected, making her heart lurch. It looked so painful and right in the middle of it all was her sister and the boys. Virgil and Richie were fighting...something. When Lux looked closer she realized it was Ebon and Hotstreak fused _together. _

And to think she actually had a crush on the other pyro. Ick.

Without a second thought, she rode over to where Matrix stood and hopped off the bike. The heroes looked like they were having a hard time and Matrix actually looked to her sister for help. Lux nodded solemnly and activated her armor. Matrix gasped as Lux's eyes glowed and she sent a massive fireball towards Ebon-Streak. The creature shrieked as it turned on her.

"Hey there boys, you look like you need a nice long nap. I'm happy to oblige." Her eyes were blazing as she fired flame after flame at the entity. Ebon-Streak howled at her as it slowly weakened. Eventually, Static joined her in her assault and finally Matrix and Gear gave it their all. After several tense moments, the four watched as Ebon-Streak fell into the river and never surfaced.

"Is he dead?" Gear asked.

"If he is, good riddance." Lux snapped as she walked back over to her bike. Matrix panicked, her sister was leaving again.

"Wait!" Lux stopped, "Don't leave...please Lux, don't go."

"Oh Morgan, you don't get it. I have to go, but you don't. You get to be free." Lux told her as she climbed back onto the motorcycle.

"What if I don't want to be free?" She didn't want to be without Lux. They had always been together. What was separating them now? What was breaking their bond?

"Our bond is never broken, Morgan. Don't forget that. Who knows? Maybe I'll come back in time for your graduation." Lux smiled.

"So...this is really goodbye?" Static asked and Lux nodded, "In that case, I'm glad you blasted your way into Dakota."

"You're so cliché, Virgil. I'll miss you too." Then she looked at Gear who simply watched her. She could feel his disdain for her. She was hurting Morgan, whom he loved. She smiled warmly at this realization.

"Keep her happy, or I'll kill you." Gear's eyes widened but he nodded stiffly before taking Matrix's hand as they all watched Lux leave. She'd be back, he knew. He didn't understand how he knew this, but he did.

When her tail lights disappeared, Matrix turned and looked at her two friends. They were all she had left now, including her father. From that day on, she promised to cherish them. And when the day came, that Lux would return, they would mend their relationship. However, that was in the future and for the first time in her life, she wasn't afraid of what was to come. She trusted that Lux would make the right choices. With a small but sad smile, she dismissed the horrible vision that she had seen of her sister. It would never come to pass. And that was enough, for now.

--

Finding Crane's body wasn't as much of a shock as it should have been. Lux's heart did ache though, if only for a fleeting moment. It was almost midnight, Atrum would be there soon. Kneeling down, she set the body alight, cremating it. The white flames licked at her as she recalled every moment she shared with Crane.

The woman had been there the first time Lux walked. She smiled in approval when Lux first spoke. There had been sadness in her eyes when she heard of Lux's first kills. She wished them well when they finally left Eros. She made Lux Aeterna's life hell. But she was always there.

"In a weird way, you were a mother to me. Thank you." She whispered as the last of Crane's ashes blew away.

"Sorry, but I figured we'd be best off without her interference." Atrum's voice was like a disease. It made her skin crawl as she turned and glared at him.

"It doesn't matter, I would have still killed you." Lux smirked and at that, the Dakota clock tower struck midnight and Atrum lunged at her. Lux easily dodged him and jumped over his attempted assault. With effortless grace she sent a fireball into his back, launching him into a wall.

"Maybe you should reconsider. You obviously don't stand a chance." She sniggered as Atrum stood up and faced her. His anger were quite evident.

"Don't get so cocky, _bitch._" He snarled as he sent a powerful pulse of air at Lux. However, she barely moved a milimeter and he stared at her in disbelief. What was this? When did she get so powerful?

"I warned you, did I not? I took my power to the next level and now I'm just honing my new skills. You should run while you still can." Atrum took several steps backwards before lunging at her again.

With a single hand raised, Lux knocked him back with an air pulse of her own. He shook it off and ripped the ground open, send debris flying at her. Lux disappeared from view and reappeared behind Atrum where she sent a knee into his stomach and an elbow into his back. He groaned as he tried to stand back up but she had broken several of her ribs and the pain was too much.

"I'd kick you while you're down but even I'm not that cruel." She smirked as she bent down and picked him up by the collar of his shirt. When he was standing, she gave one final smile and began to walk away.

"Kill me, why don't you?" He asked as he glared at her.

"I would but...I don't think you're worth it. I gotta go now, Eros is waiting for me." Atrum just stood there, in shock as she climbed back onto her bike and rode off into the night.

Then he remembered what she had told him before, he didn't have to continue living the way he had been. She was no longer the center of his universe. He could live for anyone he wanted to and at that moment he chose to live for himself. He silently thanked her as he began walking away, from Crane's ashes, from Lux, from Eros, from everything. He was no longer Atrum Aeterna anymore. They were no longer counterparts. It was time for him to seek out his own identity.

An identity that was his and his alone.

No one was in the Batcave when Lux returned. Bruce must have retired for the night, which sort of surprised. It didn't matter. They had exchanged farewells long before, when they had finished sparring one night.

--

"_So...I'll be leaving soon and...why is this so damn awkward?" Lux grimaced and to her chagrin, Bruce chuckled at her._

"_If you're trying to say goodbye, then I get it." Bruce finished for her and she nodded stiffly. It was hard believe, within a few weeks, she'd be back at Eros. _

"_Thanks Bruce, for everything." Bruce gave her a small, subtle smile._

"_You're not a bad kid, Aeterna. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." And she wouldn't._

_--_

It was a shame he wasn't awake, Lux smirked as she flopped down in the chair that sat in front of the computer. She planned to leave at sunrise. Eros was expecting her and she suspected that they already knew of Crane's untimely demise. But she didn't dwell on that. Instead she closed her eyes and pretended to sleep. There was a long road ahead of her, and she wondered if she was prepared for it.

There were no doubts, she was ready.

--

**The End.**

**No I'm serious, that's the end. I know it seems sudden but...it works for me. Anyway, I have a sequel to start. :D I hope you stick around for it. Later**

**Psycho**


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